Covid 'increases risk of arthritis for up to one year after infection'
Covid increases the risk of conditions such as arthritis for up to a year after infection, warns new medical research.
The study shows that Covid-19 infections are associated with an increased risk for autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) that extend up to 12 months after infection. AIRDS are conditions that cause inflammation and damage to various tissues and organs due to a malfunctioning immune system.
Common autoimmune rheumatic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and lupus. Researchers from Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea used data from two national, large-scale, general population-based cohort studies in Korea and Japan to investigate the effect of Covid-19 on long-term risk for incident AIRD over various follow-up periods.
The study was published in Annals of Internal Medicine (Stock photo) (Getty Images/Hero Images)The data comprised of more than 10 million Korean and 12 million Japanese adults, including those with Covid-19 between January 2020 and December 2021, matched to patients with influenza infection and to uninfected control patients. Participants were assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months after infection.
The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, showed an increased risk for incident AIRD up to 12 months after Covid-19 diagnosis compared with the other two groups. Greater severity of acute Covid-19 was associated with a higher risk for incident AIRD.
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The authors noted that Covid-19 vaccination was associated with reduced risk for incident AIRD after SARS-CoV-2 infection, except for among those who had severe Covid-19 despite vaccination.
Dr Dong Keon Yon said: "The risk was found to be higher with greater severity of acute Covid-19, even among those who were vaccinated. These findings suggest that care strategies for patients who survive Covid-19 should pay close attention to manifestations of AIRD, particularly after severe illness."
Last week, we reported about another study that found Covid may permanently affect thinking skills and harm our ability to form new memories. A landmark study of 140,000 Brits shows those who have had the virus are slightly worse at memory, reasoning and attention tests.
However, the Imperial College London study suggests people can start to recover from Long Covid. Looking at participants of similar age and health, researchers found those who contracted the virus were left with worse executive function and impulsivity.
Memory was the most affected, such as the ability to remember pictures of objects that were viewed a few minutes earlier. First author Prof Adam Hampshire, of Imperial, said: "We were able to detect small but measurable deficits in cognitive task performance."
This was found a year or more after infection, even in people who had a short or minor illness. The REACT study, which is one of the biggest and most comprehensive monitoring Covid, also found that those who contracted early variants were more affected.
They were also worse in patients who had been hospitalised with Covid who had gone on to suffer Long Covid – characterised as lasting symptoms for at least 12 weeks. However, when participants' Long Covid symptoms subsided, their cognitive deficit improved so that it was similar to those who had a shorter illness.
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