Long Covid is more common among those who have tested positive for Covid-19
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Loading... - Perez Manuel
- 15 May 2023
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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) conducted research to determine if symptoms of long Covid are more prevalent in people who have tested positive for Covid-19 than in those who have not contracted the disease.
While several studies have revealed that symptoms of long Covid can occur in individuals who have not tested positive for Covid-19, a Danish study conducted last year discovered that 30% of people who believed they had long Covid had never contracted the disease.
A Norwegian study earlier this year among young people also discovered that both infected and non-infected individuals could experience long Covid.
Professor Vegard Bruun Bratholm Wyller stated that "with the current definition of long Covid, you can have symptoms without having been infected with the coronavirus."
The NIPH's new study revealed that more Norwegians who tested positive for Covid-19 experienced long Covid symptoms than those who had not tested positive.
Karin Magnusson, senior researcher at the NIPH, stated that "our study shows that a significant number will still have symptoms or complaints six months after being infected."
The study compared infected and non-infected individuals and focused on those with a mild course of the disease. Typical long Covid symptoms include cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
Magnusson added that "we found that the prevalence was slightly higher among those who tested positive than among those who tested negative or did not test themselves."
Individuals infected with Covid-19 visited their GP with general or respiratory complaints 50 to 250 more times per 10,000 people after six months than those who were not infected. Furthermore, only 5 to 10 more people per 10,000 visited their GP with neurological complaints after six months among those infected than among those who were not infected.
Magnusson noted that "the numbers may seem small, but we must remember that several hundred thousand to millions of people have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date. The NIPH estimates that approximately 90% of the population has been infected."
Magnusson also pointed out that the study's findings are significant in understanding Covid-19 and will pave the way for further research, as individuals who still experience symptoms after six months will require medical attention, and it is currently unknown how long-term effects can be prevented and treated.
The study included 2.3 million Norwegians, with 75,979 of them testing positive for Covid-19.
