New or persistent health problems follow COVID-19 in seniors

Older adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 before vaccines were available were at higher-than-average risk for needing medical care for a persistent or new problem in the months afterward, according to a report published on Wednesday in The BMJ.

Researchers studied nearly 133,000 Americans over age 65 who had coronavirus infections in 2020 and a roughly equal number of closely matched uninfected individuals.

Nearly one-in-three COVID-19 patients sought medical attention at least three weeks after diagnosis for a new or persistent condition, an 11% higher rate than researchers saw in the comparison group.

The COVID-19 patients were at increased risk for respiratory failure (an additional 7.6 cases per 100 people), fatigue (an extra 5.7 per 100 people), high blood pressure (an extra 4.4 per 100 people), and mental health diagnoses (an extra 2.5 per 100 people), the researchers found.

When the COVID-19 patients were compared to people previously infected with other respiratory viruses, like flu, only new problems with respiratory failure, dementia, and fatigue were more common after COVID-19.

Although hospitalized patients were at higher risk for new or persistent problems, "the larger population... who did not require admission to hospital for COVID-19 were still at risk," the researchers said. -- Reuters