PETALING JAYA: Lethargy, brain fog and other symptoms of long Covid are experienced for up to six weeks by at least 88% of those diagnosed with the virus, notes a recent study.
The three-month study (July to September 2021) conducted by Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine revealed that 10% even experienced symptoms for more than six months.
Principal researcher Prof Dr Moy Foong Ming (pic) explained that long Covid was a range of symptoms that could continue for weeks or months beyond acute Covid-19 infection.
Long Covid can happen to any former patients, even those who have mild illness.
She said only categories three to five patients were given follow-up appointments by the Rehab Medicine clinic.
“This is why we need research in this aspect so that we can increase awareness among individuals experiencing post-Covid-19 symptoms to seek further treatment.
“Some symptoms are life-threatening such as palpitations, difficulty in breathing, organ failure and others so they should seek treatment as soon as possible,” she said.
The 10 most commonly reported post-Covid-19 symptoms based on the 732 respondents were tired-ness (72.1%), brain fog (50.9%), joint/muscle pain (45.5%), feeling anxious (45.4%), insomnia (45.1%), feeling depressed (41.2%), persistent cough (39.6%), feeling sick (39.5%), loss of smell/taste (37.1%), weight loss (34.3%), headache (33.5%), difficult breathing (33.3%), dizziness while standing (32.9%) and palpitations (31.7%).
These were found among former patients who most probably were in the Delta wave and unvaccinated before infection, she said.
Currently, the dominant virus is the Omicron variant and more than 80% of the total population are vaccinated with two doses and 68% of the adults are vaccinated with booster doses.
According to the United Kingdom Office of the National Statistics, among the double vaccinated individuals, long Covid symptoms were 49.7% lower in infections with the Omicron variant than those with the Delta variant, however, there was no statistical evidence of a difference in risk between infections with the Delta and Omicron variants among triple-vaccinated adults.
Another study from Japan also reported that the prevalence of post Omicron Covid-19 conditions was less than that of the other strains.
Dr Moy and her team are currently conducting another round of survey to determine whether Malaysians affected by the Omicron wave are experiencing post-Covid symptoms and the duration of these symptoms.
The link to the survey is: https://redcap.link/3cvjqbf3