Feeling ill? The cause might be years old Sumathi
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Posted On: 07/02/2024 7:55:45 AM
Feeling ill? The cause might be years old
Sumathi Reddy hedcut
By Sumathi Reddy
July 2, 2024 5:30 am ET
32 Responses
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Scientists suspect that one culprit behind your new illness might be the infection you got a couple of years ago.
The link between new health problems and your past health history appears to be particularly prevalent with Covid. A new Nature Medicine study found that health problems stemming from even mild Covid infections can emerge as many as three years afterward. The study found a greater risk three years later of problems in the gut, brain and lungs, including irritable bowel syndrome, mini-strokes and pulmonary scarring.
This is different from what most people think of as “long Covid,” the debilitating chronic condition that can include fatigue, brain fog and racing heartbeat. Instead, the latest study has found an increased risk of new health conditions—things you probably wouldn’t think of as related to a prior illness—developing years later.
This connection extends to other illnesses, too, doctors say.
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There’s some evidence of increased cases of Parkinson’s disease following the 1918 flu pandemic. More recent research has linked the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mono, to multiple sclerosis years or even decades later. Common illnesses like flu can have aftereffects, too.
“Infections may be setting up things down the road that we’re not aware of,” says Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, professor and chair of the department of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and director of its Covid recovery clinic.
The science is still emerging. It’s hard to know for sure whether an old illness is causing your new problem, so for now there are no hard and fast guidelines for patients.
What’s behind the new problems
The latest Covid study didn’t identify a cause of later health problems, and scientists say there’s probably more than one. But one culprit is likely inflammation, doctors say.
Infections can trigger inflammation, the body’s natural response to fight off disease. Sometimes inflammation doesn’t subside and becomes chronic, which can create problems that lead to conditions like dementia and neurological disease.
Researchers analyzed millions of records from the Veterans Affairs health system from the first year of the pandemic, before the wide rollout of Covid vaccines and antivirals. Researchers compared more than 114,000 veterans who got mild Covid with a control group of more than five million veterans who didn’t have Covid.
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Sumathi Reddy hedcut
By Sumathi Reddy
July 2, 2024 5:30 am ET
32 Responses
Explore Audio Center
Scientists suspect that one culprit behind your new illness might be the infection you got a couple of years ago.
The link between new health problems and your past health history appears to be particularly prevalent with Covid. A new Nature Medicine study found that health problems stemming from even mild Covid infections can emerge as many as three years afterward. The study found a greater risk three years later of problems in the gut, brain and lungs, including irritable bowel syndrome, mini-strokes and pulmonary scarring.
This is different from what most people think of as “long Covid,” the debilitating chronic condition that can include fatigue, brain fog and racing heartbeat. Instead, the latest study has found an increased risk of new health conditions—things you probably wouldn’t think of as related to a prior illness—developing years later.
This connection extends to other illnesses, too, doctors say.
Newsletter Sign-up
Health
Get a weekly briefing on what's new in health, medicine, personal well-being and the business of healthcare.
Subscribe
There’s some evidence of increased cases of Parkinson’s disease following the 1918 flu pandemic. More recent research has linked the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mono, to multiple sclerosis years or even decades later. Common illnesses like flu can have aftereffects, too.
“Infections may be setting up things down the road that we’re not aware of,” says Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, professor and chair of the department of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and director of its Covid recovery clinic.
The science is still emerging. It’s hard to know for sure whether an old illness is causing your new problem, so for now there are no hard and fast guidelines for patients.
What’s behind the new problems
The latest Covid study didn’t identify a cause of later health problems, and scientists say there’s probably more than one. But one culprit is likely inflammation, doctors say.
Infections can trigger inflammation, the body’s natural response to fight off disease. Sometimes inflammation doesn’t subside and becomes chronic, which can create problems that lead to conditions like dementia and neurological disease.
Researchers analyzed millions of records from the Veterans Affairs health system from the first year of the pandemic, before the wide rollout of Covid vaccines and antivirals. Researchers compared more than 114,000 veterans who got mild Covid with a control group of more than five million veterans who didn’t have Covid.
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