An Australian study investigating the long-term impacts of COVID-19 found nearly three-quarters of the participants had lingering symptoms months after their recovery.
The study's initial findings have been published in the national, peer-reviewed, Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP).
In early 2020, researchers from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District monitored the mental and physical health of individuals who were infected during the first wave of the virus.
Adelaide resident, Jennifer Stehn, 71, said she had been left with a raft of health complications since being placed in intensive care, on a ventilator, in April last year.
"The virus attacked my heart, which now doesn't function properly," she said.
"I have to rely on 12 medications to keep everything happening and without them, I would be dead.
"COVID doesn't just come and then go and leave you, mostly it leaves you with a legacy you'd rather not have."
A 'dramatic' change
Ms Stehn was one of 59 Australians surveyed for the study, which found 73 per cent of participants were symptomatic four-and-a-half months after their diagnoses.
"The most common symptoms were fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, limb weakness, loss of appetite and shortness of breath," Wollongong-based physician, and principal investigator, Dr Stuart Tan said.
"Our participants scored a higher level of depression, anxiety and stress compared to the Australian norm, so it does indicate that there were also a lot of psychological issues."
According to the study, 47 per cent of participants reported having unusual symptoms such as hair loss, blurred vision and mental fogginess, while 45 per cent of participants were unable to perform their pre-COVID activities.
"Some would play a lot of sports and they can't do that anymore, so there has been a dramatic change in their life," Dr Tan said.
Informing future treatment
Unlike studies conducted overseas, investigators surveyed patients who were treated in hospital as well as those who recovered at home.
"Being such a novel infection, a lot of general practitioners (GPs) still do not know what to do with these patients," Dr Tan said.
"I think this information is very important for GPs to know, that there are issues being faced by this population group.
A recent study by Monash University that looked at COVID-19 patients who had been in intensive care, similarly found that more than 70 per cent of respondents reported suffering persistent symptoms six months after they were hospitalised with COVID-19.
Different strains
Co-investigator Lyndel Hewitt said the ongoing study is now looking to recruit people who have contracted the Delta variant.
"The preliminary results of the study being released now have been looking at the Alpha and Wuhan strain of the virus," Ms Hewitt said.
"We'd love to hear from anyone who's had a positive diagnosis and even if they're fully recovered, we'd love them to be part of this study," she said.
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