Severe COVID-19 Survivors Remain at Risk

A new peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Medicine by researchers from the University of Florida found people who survived severe cases of COVID-19 had more than twice the risk of dying in the year after recovery compared to people who had a mild or moderate disease or who never had COVID-19.

Additionally, the risk of dying from COVID-19 effects appears more significant for people under 65 years of age.

In fact, the risk of 12-month mortality among adults under 65 hospitalized with COVID-19 is increased by 233% over those who are COVID-19 negative.

Nearly 80% of the downstream deaths among patients with COVID-19 were for causes other than respiratory or cardiovascular.

In fact, 80% of such deaths occurred for various reasons that are not typically associated with Covid-19. This suggests that the patients experienced an overall decline in their health, which left them vulnerable to various ailments.

When nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations are preventable, this study points to an under-investigated sequela of COVID-19 and the corresponding need for prevention.

"Taking your chances and hoping for successful treatment in the hospital doesn't convey the full picture of the impact of Covid-19. Therefore, our recommendation at this point is to use preventive measures, such as vaccination, to prevent severe episodes of Covid-19," stated these researchers in a press release.

The researchers tracked electronic health records of 13,638 patients who underwent a PCR test for Covid-19 within the University of Florida health system, with 178 patients experiencing severe Covid-19, 246 mild or moderate Covid-19, and the rest testing negative. All patients included in the study recovered from the disease, and the researchers tracked their outcomes over the next 12 months.

No conflicts of interest were disclosed.