4 ms·

> Long COVID was characterized by symptoms of fatigue, headache, dyspnea and anosmia and was more likely with increasing age and body mass index and female sex.

> Long COVID was characterized by symptoms of fatigue, headache, dyspnea and anosmia and was more likely with increasing age and body mass index and female sex. Experiencing more than five symptoms during the first week of illness was associated with long COVID. A bit disappointing information. So, first week severity indicates risk for long covid? Or is it multiorgan involvement independent from severity?

wvh 6y ago
It's surprising how long it takes to draw solid conclusions, considering the amount of "live" cases to draw from.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  Why is that surprising? The whole descriptor 'long Covid' suggests that there is an element of time involved that is rather longer than the initial round of the disease itself. Many diseases take years to run their course, I would expect the real damage toll from long Covid to not be visible for years to come rather than that we would somehow be able to predict the course of the disease before we have real world data showing what it can be like. The number of cases has no effect on that at all.
  - jamesrcole 6y ago
    I think they probably mean that, if there’s lots of cases, then there’s (in principle) lots of available information to study, regarding whatever mechanisms are behind the long covid effects we’ve seen so far.
- smhg 6y ago
  Indeed, also taking into consideration that the pandemic is the most pressing issue in many countries. It can't be a budgetary issue. Could someone shed some light on why these questions are so hard?
- entropicdrifter 6y ago
  Ironically, an excessively large amount of raw data can make study harder, at least at first, since it can be difficult to scientifically discern what is a real case of long covid and what is the result of other external factors. Raw data abundance may seem like a good thing for study, but when people have time to build their own lore and superstitions, it can make scientific inquiry that much more difficult.
tremon 6y ago
Many severe long covid cases are benign in the acute phase. Multiorgan involvement seems to me like it 1) doesn't occur in the first week 2) doesn't occur in benign cases. Also, from the abstract: This model could be used to identify individuals at risk of long COVID for trials of prevention or treatment and to plan education and rehabilitation services. So this is not about "first week of illness indicates COVID severity" per se, this is about creating a prediction model to triage cases. It makes sense to focus on early symptoms for that.
regularfry 6y ago
You could get over the 5-symptom limit in this study just with knackered lungs.
- mannykannot 6y ago
  If you do, you might have more pressing concerns that Long Covid if you are in the first week of an infection, and yet you might also be at higher risk for that as well.
IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
It's amount of symptoms, not severity.

wvh 6y ago

It's surprising how long it takes to draw solid conclusions, considering the amount of "live" cases to draw from.

jacquesm 6y ago
Why is that surprising? The whole descriptor 'long Covid' suggests that there is an element of time involved that is rather longer than the initial round of the disease itself. Many diseases take years to run their course, I would expect the real damage toll from long Covid to not be visible for years to come rather than that we would somehow be able to predict the course of the disease before we have real world data showing what it can be like. The number of cases has no effect on that at all.
- jamesrcole 6y ago
  I think they probably mean that, if there’s lots of cases, then there’s (in principle) lots of available information to study, regarding whatever mechanisms are behind the long covid effects we’ve seen so far.
smhg 6y ago
Indeed, also taking into consideration that the pandemic is the most pressing issue in many countries. It can't be a budgetary issue. Could someone shed some light on why these questions are so hard?
entropicdrifter 6y ago
Ironically, an excessively large amount of raw data can make study harder, at least at first, since it can be difficult to scientifically discern what is a real case of long covid and what is the result of other external factors. Raw data abundance may seem like a good thing for study, but when people have time to build their own lore and superstitions, it can make scientific inquiry that much more difficult.

tremon 6y ago

Many severe long covid cases are benign in the acute phase. Multiorgan involvement seems to me like it 1) doesn't occur in the first week 2) doesn't occur in benign cases. Also, from the abstract: This model could be used to identify individuals at risk of long COVID for trials of prevention or treatment and to plan education and rehabilitation services. So this is not about "first week of illness indicates COVID severity" per se, this is about creating a prediction model to triage cases. It makes sense to focus on early symptoms for that.

regularfry 6y ago

You could get over the 5-symptom limit in this study just with knackered lungs.

mannykannot 6y ago
If you do, you might have more pressing concerns that Long Covid if you are in the first week of an infection, and yet you might also be at higher risk for that as well.

IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago

It's amount of symptoms, not severity.