Experts warn of risks of long Covid

Patients who develop more than five symptoms of Covid-19 when they develop the disease are more likely to develop long Covid syndrome, according to scientists. 

People at risk of long Covid syndrome are elderly patients, obese people, women, those with a history of asthma and people who had many symptoms during the acute phase of Covid-19. 

“Children are not protected either. They can have long Covid and in fact in a not small percentage,” said Anastasia Kotanidou, director of the Intensive Care Clinic of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) at Evangelismos, during a recent scientific event of EKPA. 

She said that even when the pandemic stops, “we will hear about long Covid syndrome for a long time.” 

Long Covid describes symptoms that persist for more than 12 weeks after the diagnosis of Covid-19 and for which there is no alternative diagnosis. 

The incidence of the syndrome has been reported in different studies from 2% to 30% of patients infected with the virus, and it is estimated that three out of four patients who need to be treated for Covid-19 show at least one symptom, mostly fatigue, that persists for six months after the acute phase of the disease. 

With regard to children, there are studies that show the syndrome occurring in 15% of the 12-16 age group.