Freiburg (dpa / lsw) – Even six to twelve months after a corona infection, around one in four people still suffer from significant long-term consequences – and their health and ability to work are impaired as a result. This is the result of a survey commissioned by the state government of around 12,000 previously infected people from Baden-Württemberg aged between 18 and 65.
“Although we suspected the trend, we were very surprised by the number of young people with initially uncomplicated acute Sars-CoV-2 infection at risk of Long Covid,” study leader Winfried Kern of the University Hospital of Freiburg said Friday. The study was published in the British Medical Journal.
The most common complaints, even months after an infection, were chronic fatigue and exhaustion, difficulty concentrating or memory disturbances, breathing difficulties and shortness of breath, impaired sense of smell, anxiety and depressive symptoms, each with more than 20 percent. Although possible bias due to selective participation in the study must be assumed, a significant disease burden remains according to lead author Raphael Peter of the University of Ulm.
The universities of Heidelberg and Tübingen were also involved in the study. It was built with the help of the ASLs in the vicinity of the universities and will continue for two years starting in winter 2022. The possible causes and the long-term course of the symptoms should be further investigated. The state government has so far funded the study with € 2.3 million.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 221014-99-129972 / 2
