What is left 1 year after mostly non-severe COVID-19?

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Among 120 Wuhan survivors (~87% non-severe) followed a median 314.5 days, sleep problems, dyspnea, fatigue, joint pain, anxiety/depression, and diffusion impairment remained common.

Source

Assessment of Sequelae of COVID-19 Nearly 1 Year After Diagnosis

Zhou F, Tao M, Shang L, et al. · Frontiers in medicine · 2021

doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.717194 Read the full paper ↗66 citationscc by

Study at a glance

Design: Cohort — Nearly 1-year follow-up of COVID-19 survivors discharged from Wuhan Union west campus and Fangcang shelters
N: N=120 · 120 SARS-CoV-2 patients; 104 (86.7%) non-severe; median 314.5 days from diagnosis to follow-up
Population: Adults discharged January–April 2020 from Wuhan designated hospital and Fangcang shelters
Outcome: Residual symptoms, anxiety/depression, IgG serostatus, lung function/CT, 6MWT, and labs ~1 year after diagnosis

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What they did

Reassessed 120 discharged patients with symptom/QoL/psychology questionnaires plus spirometry, chest CT, 6MWT, blood tests, and IgG ~1 year after diagnosis (Nov 2020–Jan 2021).

What they found

Mean age 51.6. Sleep difficulty, shortness of breath, fatigue, and joint pain were common; ~one-third of non-severe cases still had these. Anxiety 41.7%, depression 37.5%. 18.3% IgG-negative (20.2% non-severe vs 6.3% severe). Diffusion impairment in 26.1% (24.2% of non-severe).

The limits

What it doesn't show

Single-center 120-person follow-up without uninfected controls cannot estimate population Long COVID incidence or prove lasting organ damage in every non-severe case.

Key terms

Non-severe COVID-19: Mild/moderate illness; 104/120 (86.7%) of this cohort.
Sequelae: Residual symptoms or organ issues after acute infection.
6MWT: Six-minute walk test of functional capacity.
IgG: Immunoglobulin G antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.
Diffusion impairment: Reduced pulmonary gas transfer on lung-function testing.

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Follow-up N:

Common questions

How many patients and how long after diagnosis?

120 patients; median 314.5 days.

What share were non-severe?

104/120 (86.7%).

Anxiety and depression rates?

41.7% and 37.5%.

IgG-negative share?

18.3% overall; higher in non-severe (20.2% vs 6.3%).