"Many COVID-19 Recoverees Experience Hair Loss and Fatigue... Some Suffer from Reduced Lung Function"

National Institute of Health and National Medical Center Announce Interim Results on Aftereffects

Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] A study has revealed that a significant number of recovered patients from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) suffer from aftereffects such as hair loss and fatigue.

On the 14th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced interim results of a clinical aftereffects study on COVID-19 patients, jointly conducted by the National Institute of Health and the National Medical Center.

At a regular briefing that day, Kwon Jun-wook, the 2nd Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated, "We conducted examinations and surveys every three months on a total of 40 adult patients who were hospitalized after being confirmed with COVID-19, and found that aftereffect symptoms appeared differently over time."

At the three-month mark, symptoms such as hair loss and shortness of breath during exercise were relatively common, while at six months, fatigue tended to be more prominent.

Some patients showed decreased lung function, but recovery patterns were observed over time. Lung computed tomography (CT) scans showed that at three months, a significant portion of lung inflammation remained, and by six months most had improved, although some pulmonary fibrosis developed.

Psychiatric aftereffects mainly included depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with depression decreasing over time and PTSD showing an increasing trend.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Director Kwon said, "Among the 40 recovered patients studied by the National Medical Center, symptoms ranged evenly from mild to moderate to severe, and the age groups were diverse," adding, "In the future, we will conduct functional analyses not only through clinical symptoms and various functional tests but also psychiatric analysis, diagnostic laboratory medicine, and radiological examinations."

He also explained, "Various aftereffect investigations have been conducted mainly in countries with more COVID-19 recovered patients than us, such as China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In China, 76% of recovered patients reported one or more persistent clinical symptoms, with muscle weakness and sleep disorders being the most common."

He stated, "We plan to continue multifaceted analyses and long-term monitoring of aftereffect symptoms and their duration in COVID-19 recovered patients."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.