AMSTERDAM (ANP) – Dutch people with a migration background more often develop long-term covid than others. The risk of long-term covid after being infected with the virus is 50 percent higher among Turkish Dutch people than among people without a migration background, the Amsterdam UMC states on the basis of research. According to Professor of Migration and Health Charles Agyemang, many people suffer “in silence”.
About a quarter of the people who ended up in hospital with a corona infection suffer from long-term complaints. All migrant groups from the study had a higher risk of developing long-term covid than other Dutch people. Women who were in the ICU with a ventilator also had a higher risk than men.
People with a migration background already had a greater chance of becoming infected during the pandemic, but also of subsequently entering intensive care or dying. According to Agyemang, the same factors that contributed to that inequality also play a role in the increased likelihood of long-term covid among migrant groups. For example, according to him, these groups have on average less well-paid work, for which you often also have to be on location. So someone who gets sick in such a situation might be less likely to stay home. “Because there must also be bread on the table.” Those who wait longer to go to the doctor in the event of a serious corona infection have a greater chance of ending up in intensive care, and those who have been there run a greater risk of developing long-term covid, he explains.
Awareness
The symptoms that people develop turned out to vary widely, according to the study. Patients of Turkish origin suffered more from dizziness and muscle and joint pain, people with a Moroccan background more often suffered from palpitations and sleeping problems.
According to Agyemang, many people with long-term covid complaints suffer in silence, “because people in these migrant communities are not aware of the existence of the condition.” He calls awareness of the condition and better access to health care for these groups “essential to address these health inequalities.”
To investigate the long-term consequences of corona for patients from different backgrounds, Amsterdam UMC collaborated with the universities in Copenhagen and Stockholm. The researchers looked at data from nearly 1890 people, including Hindustani-Surinamese, Creole-Surinamese, Moroccan and Turkish patients. The study was published this week in the scientific journal The Lancet Regional Health Europe.
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