Long COVID, lingering money struggles often follow COVID hospitalizations, study finds
For many people whose COVID-19 infection landed them in a hospital, it’s common for certain long COVID symptoms, as well as struggles paying bills, to emerge in the months after, a new study found.
Collectively, about half of patients treated for COVID-19 at a hospital can expect to experience at least one of those challenges, according to research published Feb. 14 in the journal JAMA Network Open. The work received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
It’s also more likely for new health issues to emerge as time goes on — at about six months after coming home from a COVID-19 hospitalization, the research found.
Most COVID-19 patients studied, 67%, developed lingering symptoms linked to the heart and lungs — such as coughing, a fast heartbeat and chest troubles — in the first month after being discharged from the hospital, according to the study. This number jumped even higher at about six months after discharge, with 75% of patients experiencing cardiopulmonary issues.
Researchers studied 825 adults who were treated for COVID-19 at 44 medical centers in the U.S. between August 2020 and July 2021, which was before omicron was discovered.
Lead study author Dr. Andrew J. Admon, a pulmonologist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, said in an NIH news release that his “clinic patients often want to know how soon they’ll get back to their usual health.”
Based on the study’s findings, “it seems that many people hospitalized for COVID-19 should expect symptoms to last for up to six months or even longer,” he said.
The research also found that more than half of COVID-19 patients, 56%, will face money struggles after six months, the research found. Among this group, about 30% of patients’ family finances were moderately, severely or extremely drained.
The findings seek to inform long COVID care going forward for those hospitalized with a severe infection, according to Dr. James P. Kiley, who leads the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Lung Diseases.
In January, a study published in The BMJ identified a likely cutoff point of long COVID symptoms for some, McClatchy News previously reported.
Following a mild COVID-19 infection, long COVID symptoms were found to be “more prominent” in the first six months after infection, according to the work conducted in Israel. Then, most began to subside afterward within the year.
Long COVID issues after COVID hospitalization
While some patients studied in the new work did recover in the months after their COVID-19 infection, most didn’t.
Seven in 10 adults dealt with at least one long COVID symptom affecting the lungs or their cardiovascular system, including chest problems and swelling in their legs, ankles and feet.
Such swelling should be considered a red flag and a general warning of a heart issue, according to MedlinePlus.
The two most common issues patients experienced six months after a COVID-19 hospitalization were chest issues when exposed to fumes and coughing, the study found.
The rate of adults feeling fatigued increased at about six months, according to the research. At about one month after leaving the hospital, 41% of patients felt fatigued — and this increased to 51% at about six months.
At the one month mark, most patients, 55%, had trouble taking care of themselves and doing typical tasks such as making food and walking across the room, the study found. At the six month mark, slightly fewer patients, 47%, dealt with these challenges.
Financial struggles after hospitalization
Patients who experienced financial hardship dropped from 66% at one month to 56% at six months after COVID-19 hospitalization, the study found.
Those struggling at six months were more likely to be Hispanic or Black and and the same people experiencing troubles in the first month, the study said.
At around six months, roughly 34% of patients drained, or nearly drained, money they had saved, about 20% couldn’t buy basic necessities, and 16% owed medical bills from their hospital treatment, according to the research.
For those who didn’t have any money struggles in the first month, about 23% of people said they faced financial difficulties at month six, researchers discovered.
“The findings of this study suggest that symptoms, disabilities, and financial problems remain highly prevalent—with some new problems—in the 6 months after COVID-19 hospitalization,” study authors wrote.
Researchers noted some limitations of their study, including that patients self-reported their symptoms.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Long COVID, lingering money struggles often follow COVID hospitalizations, study finds."
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