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According to a study, hospitalized individuals with seasonal flu may potentially experience long-term, detrimental health effects, termed as long flu. These effects particularly affect lungs and airways, similar to those of prolonged COVID. The results, which were reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, demonstrated that long flu—which was long dismissed as a health concern—is real and does pose a risk.
Since the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 initially surfaced, there has been a gradual increase in awareness of long-COVID, or long-term symptoms that continue or reappear months to years after an initial COVID-19 infection. However, the new study draws attention to another major public health burden, which the authors of the study refer to loosely as the "long flu."
Co-author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly said,
“We learned from COVID-19 that infections that are initially thought to cause only acute illnesses can cause chronic disease.”
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How was the study conducted?
Patients included a range of ages, genders, and races. The patient's vaccination status had no bearing on the outcomes for either virus.
Compared to those with seasonal influenza, individuals with COVID-19 had a 50% greater risk of death throughout the entire 18-month trial period. This translated into almost eight more deaths per 100 individuals in the COVID-19 group than in the flu group.
The current study comparing the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the flu also showed that individuals hospitalized for seasonal influenza or COVID-19 had a higher risk of death, readmission to the hospital, and health issues across several organ systems in the 18 months following infection. Furthermore, 30 days or more following the initial infection was when the danger was at its maximum.
Federal statistics indicate that 14% of American people report having had long-COVID at some point. However, a lot of people are unaware that other viruses—even some that are extremely widespread—can cause symptoms that are just as severe and persistent.
What are the common long flu symptoms?
Those who had COVID-19 were more likely to experience symptoms such as exhaustion, mental health issues, and pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and heart issues.
The risk of death and disability was higher in the months following infection than in the first 30 days in both cases, even though the symptoms of such a "long flu" seem to be more lung-focused than continuous COVID symptoms.
This is something the team hopes to look into in the upcoming months. The study was not intended to determine whether any particular group is at increased risk or what percentage of hospitalized influenza patients go on to develop other health issues. The degree to which individuals who contract the flu but do not end up in the hospital also remains unknown.
However, researchers noted that long-term COVID patients experience worse health outcomes than long-term flu patients.
