Fatigue and breathlessness
Several studies have indicated that COVID can lead to long lasting fatigue. According to a review published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 46% of patients report fatigue weeks and months after recovery. The same review highlighted that in the majority of COVID-19 cohort studies, persistent fatigue was reported by 13% to 33% of people 16–20 weeks post-symptom onset. The recent study published in the Journal of Infection found that apart from fatigue, breathlessness was also a common long lasting symptom in about 20% of the participants, prevalent 9 months after recovery. Studies in the past have also linked long term breathlessness with heart damage. Additionally, the study noted that while 18% of patients did not return to optimal pre-Covid physical health, 19% reported psychological distress during the ninth month. The researchers found that hospitalised patients and symptom persistence at day 28 and month nine were independent predictors of suboptimal physical health, whereas f