Research areas on Covid-19 & Long Covid
This is a very small collection of research into the long-term health impacts of COVID-19. This list gives an initial insight into research in this area. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all research (to see over 3800 covid studies, click here and here). One important point is that 10% of infections result in chronic illness and the risk increases with each infection. Getting infected does not give you immunity. Prevention is better than cure. And prevention is not that hard according to experts, it requires leadership though. I’m not sponsored or anything, but I’ve found AMD P2 respirators to be great for everything from ducking in and out of shops, long periods of teaching, to martial arts sessions. For info on NSW Workers Compensation for Covid19 related issues, click here. Last updated 12-Mar-2024.
Health Impact on Children
“Children faced a 78% higher risk of new-onset conditions after they had COVID-19”, (Sep, 2023).
12 to 16% of kids getting Long COVID after Infection or Reinfection. Journal of Pediatrics (May, 2023).
COVID-19 in children was associated with an increased incidence of type 1 diabetes (May, 2023).
Study of 18,355 infants delivered after February 2020 found that male but not female offspring born to mothers with Covid19 during pregnancy were more likely to receive a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in the first 12 months after delivery. See academic study here. See Harvard News & Research commentary here (March 2023).
Ventilation guidelines for NSW. Do schools follow these?
Male Reproduction System
Testicular function is reduced in men mildly affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection, journal of Andrology (8-July-23).
Sperm production destroyed by even “mild cases” of Covid-19 (June 2023).
Immune System
Covid19 - A spectrum of immune dysregulation, article from Doherty Institute (Aug 2022).
High risk of autoimmune diseases after COVID-19 (Apr 2023).
Autonomic nervous system dysfunction in long-COVID patients (Sep 2022).
“Even relatively easy bouts with COVID-19 can still take a toll on the immune system” TIME, (27 Mar 2023).
Heart
Post-COVID 'heart failure pandemic' possible according to Japanese researchers (26-Dec-23).
“COVID-19 is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death in the short- and long-term, according to a study in nearly 160,000 participants published today in Cardiovascular Research, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology”. (Press release from European Society of Cardiology, Jan 2023).
Risk of incident heart failure after COVID-19 recovery (Dec 2022).
Research adding detail to inflammatory heart disease caused by COVID-19 (Mar 2022).
Heart-disease risk soars after covid — even with a mild case (Feb 2022).
COVID-19 and the Heart: A Case-Based Pocket Guide, a 2022 book.
COVID-19 and heart failure: from infection to inflammation and angiotensin II stimulation (May 2020).
COVID-19 and Coronary Heart Disease (Apr 2021).
One Year After SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Patients Have an Array of Increased Cardiovascular Risks (Mar 2022).
Brain
Summary of covid caused brain issues by The Conversation (29-Feb-24)
Long COVID is associated with severe cognitive slowing (25-Jan-2024).
What we now know about long COVID and our brains (6-Jan-2023)
Channel 9 reported on research showing long term impacts to the brain from covid, eg virus lays dormant in organs and then, after some months or years, activates immune system to attack organs, Nov 2022 (see report here).
“COVID fog demystified.” Research adding details to brain damage caused by Covid-19.
Research on ‘brain fog’ brain damage by Covid-19, (Oct 2021).
Olfactory loss and brain connectivity after COVID-19 (Jan 2022).
Brain changes after covid revealed by imaging (Mar 2022).
Cognitive complaints (brain fog) and dysfunction of the cingulate cortex (Jun 2021).
Alzheimer's‐like signaling in brains of COVID‐19 patients (May 2022).
Associated with changes in brain structure (April 2022).
Channel 9 reports on research that shows Covid-19 “can fuse brain cells together and could explain brain fog, headaches, loss of taste and smell and other long-term neurological symptoms some patients suffer.” (8-June-2023).
Covid-19 results in elevation of brain injury markers in blood tests (22-Des-2023).
More research into how Covid-19 infections damage the brain (31-Aug-2023).
Cancer
This study reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on “the vulnerability and susceptibility of specific organs to cancer development.” (May 2023).
COVID-19 had causal effects on cancer risk according to this research (April 2023.
General
Covid19 infection increases “risk of developing respiratory diseases, and the risk increases with the severity of infection and reinfection.” (Research published March 2024).
Covid damages skeletal muscles. Exercise can make it worse. See scientific article here. See news article here (4-Jan-2024).
Long COVID will take your health, your wealth, and damage relationships, ABC report (27-Dec-23).
For people not hospitalized when they got covid, two years after infection substantial risk remains for several major organ systems such as gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and neurologic systems (Aug 2023). [most (90%) of the study cohort was men]
Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital COVID-19 ward (June 2021).
Yes, masks reduce the risk of spreading COVID. See this review of the science (31-Oct-23), Conversation Article (7-Feb-23) and this Scientific American Article (5-May-23). Also this one.
Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. See academic article here. Media reporting on this here (13 Jan 2023).
Long COVID stemmed from mild cases of COVID-19 in most people (The Conversation 6-Jan-23).
Australian death toll and update in The Age (2-Jan-2023).
Compared to no reinfection, reinfection contributed additional risks of death, hospitalization and things like pulmonary, cardiovascular, hematological, diabetes, gastrointestinal, kidney, mental health, musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. The risks were evident regardless of vaccination status (Nov 2022).
Covid related risk after the acute infection. "The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status" See Reuters article here. See scientific paper here (Nov 2022).
Covid related excess deaths. Report from Actuaries Institute’s COVID-19 Mortality Working Group (4-Mar-24).
Summary of mask research.
The longer you are exposed to someone with covid, the higher your chance of being infected (21-Dec-2023).
SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence in the human body and brain at autopsy (Dec 2022).
Is Australia’s Covid19 strategy working? ABC panel interview with Professor Brendan Crabb from Melbourne's Burnet Institute, frontline doctor Nada Hamad, and economist Richard Denniss from The Australia Institute (23 Jan 2023).
Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 suggests that natural immunity is not long-lasting in COVID-19 patients (14-April-2023).
Did Sweden do a good job managing the outbreak of covid? Research says no with Swedish death rate 10X higher than neighbouring Norway. Also, post-covid symptoms in 16.5% of cases, Swedish research July 2023.
Covid-19 Infection Affects Energy Stores in the Body, Causing Organ Failure (31-Oct-23).
