The aftermath of COVID-19 continues to reveal its long-term effects on survivors, especially those who were hospitalized due to the severity of their illness. A recent French nationwide study sheds light on the increased risk of death or organ-related disorders faced by individuals up to two-and-a-half years after being discharged from the hospital.
Published in Infectious Diseases, the study followed nearly 64,000 French residents who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 between January and August 2020. The research aimed to understand the lasting impact of the virus on the health of survivors and underscore the importance of ongoing healthcare and monitoring for these individuals.
Lead author Dr. Sarah Tubiana, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Clinical Investigation Center at Bichat Hospital in Paris, emphasizes the significance of the findings. She points out that while much attention has been given to the immediate dangers of the virus, the study’s results highlight the long-term health complications that hospitalized COVID-19 survivors continue to face.
The study compared the health outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a control group from the general population matched for age, sex, and location. Over a period of up to 30 months, the researchers observed a higher rate of deaths from any cause among the COVID-19 survivors, as well as an increased likelihood of hospitalization for various organ-related conditions such as neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, and respiratory issues.
Interestingly, the study found no difference in the risk of hospitalization between men and women, except for psychiatric conditions, which showed a higher excess risk in women. Additionally, the odds of re-hospitalization following a COVID-19 hospitalization were higher for all age groups, with older patients experiencing a higher incidence of all-cause re-hospitalization and organ-specific disorders.
While the excess risks decreased after the first six months, they remained elevated for up to 30 months for certain conditions like neurological and respiratory disorders, chronic kidney failure, and diabetes. Co-author Dr. Charles Burdet, an Infectious Diseases specialist at Université Paris Cité, highlights the long-lasting consequences of COVID-19 on survivors’ health and calls for further research to understand and address these risks.
The study’s strength lies in its use of a large, nationwide database covering the entire French population, making the findings broadly applicable to similar Western populations. However, the study focused on patients infected with the virus in early 2020, before new variants emerged, so further research is needed to assess the long-term health consequences of more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants.
In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of ongoing monitoring and healthcare for individuals who have been hospitalized with COVID-19. The research highlights the need to better understand the mechanisms behind the long-term health risks associated with the virus and develop strategies to mitigate these effects. As the world continues to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, studies like these provide valuable insights into the lasting impact of COVID-19 on survivors’ health.
