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NEW YORK, NY (July 29, 2020) - Those recovering from COVID-19 have reported a wide range of symptoms and now there is evidence that those symptoms may be even more far reaching and long lasting than previously thought, according to Indiana University School of Medicine and Survivor Corps, a group of COVID-19 survivors mobilizing to increase understanding and stop the virus’ spread. Survivor Corps surveyed over 1,500 long haulers - patients whose symptoms persist for many weeks, even months - in order to understand the range of long-term COVID-19 symptoms, identify which long-term symptoms long haulers suffer from most frequently and evaluate which of these symptoms are currently under investigated by medical research. “A recent CDC study identified 17 persistent COVID-19 symptoms, but long haulers who took our survey reported 98 long-term symptoms,” said Dr. Natalie Lambert, associate research professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. “The new symptoms our study identified include severe nerve pain, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, blurry vision, and even hair loss.” While the impact of COVID-19 on the lungs and vascular system have received some media and medical attention, the results of this survey suggest that brain, whole body, joint, eye and skin symptoms are also frequently-occurring health problems for people recovering from the virus. Long haulers’ COVID-19 symptoms are far more numerous than
suggested by previous research studies (survey participants reported 98
symptoms) A reported 26.5% of symptoms experienced by long haulers are
typically painful Future research must focus on a wide range of symptoms to
develop needed medical therapies and treatments Attention needs to be given to symptoms experienced by long
haulers in additional parts of the body including the brain, whole body,
joints, hair, skin and eyes Dizziness, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, memory problems, joint pain, hair loss, sadness, neuropathy in the hands and feet, blurry vision and rashes were also frequently reported long-term symptoms.
Survivor Corps polled members of their COVID-19 survivor Facebook Group,
asking them to select all of their long-term COVID-19 symptoms from a list of
symptoms based on research done by Dr. Natalie Lambert at Indiana University
School of Medicine and Dr. Wendy Chung at Columbia University Irving Medical
Center. The poll was made “open” so that participants could add and vote on
symptoms they thought were missing from the list. With over 84,400 members, the
Survivor Corps Facebook group offered a unique opportunity to survey a large
sample of long haulers. “Our study demonstrates the importance of conducting open-ended COVID-19 symptom research, as well as the value of recruiting participants from online communities like Survivor Corps where thousands of COVID-19 patients crowdsource their experiences,” said Dr. Lambert. “Until there is more research that helps us to understand why these long-term symptoms are happening and how to treat them, thousands of long haulers will continue to suffer at home; Both from painful COVID-19 symptoms and uncertainty about when they will feel well again.” About Survivor Corps
Survivor Corps is a grassroots community of COVID-19 survivors mobilizing to educate and support each other, while advocating for convalescent plasma donation and engagement in scientific trials and studies to help stem the tide of the pandemic and assist in the national recovery. Survivor Corps is the Epicenter of HOPE. www.survivorcorps.com * * * For interviews and media requests, please contact: Dr. Natalie Lambert, Indiana University School of Medicine: nalamb@iu.edu
Diana Berrent, Founder, Survivor Corps: diana@berrent.com
Kathy Morgenstern/Suzanne Pincus Shidlovsky, Media: press@survivorcorps.com Click here for the complete COVID-19 “Long Hauler” Symptoms Survey Report
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