Pain seems to be the most common and severe long Covid symptom, according to a retrospective analysis of 1,008 people with the syndrome in England and Wales.

Patients used an app to log symptoms with most participants (77 per cent) reporting symptoms on several occasions. Pain, including headache, joint pain and stomach pain, was the most common of the 109 symptom categories identified, accounting for 26.5 per cent of symptoms and reported by 44.4 per cent of individuals. 

Other common symptoms included neuropsychological issues, such as anxiety and depression (18.4 per cent of symptoms), fatigue (14.3 per cent) and dyspnoea (7.4 per cent), which were reported by 40.7, 42.5 and 21.3 per cent of patients respectively. Other symptoms included palpitations, light-headedness and tinnitus.

Symptom intensity (on a scale of one to 10), particularly pain, increased by an average of 3.3 per cent each month. Older people experienced more severe symptoms than younger adults. 

For example, symptom intensity was 32.8 per cent higher in people aged 68-77 years and 86.0 per cent worse in those 78-87 years than in the 18-27 year-old group.

Women reported more severe symptoms than men (by 9.2 per cent), while people of ethnic groups other than white reported more intense long Covid symptoms than Caucasians (by 23.5 per cent). 

The limitations of the analysis included a lack of information about co-morbidities, prehospitalisation or vaccine status. Individuals who were not adept at using the app “may be unfairly under-represented”. Participants also needed to be proficient in English. 

“With ongoing occurrences of Covid-19, the potential for more long Covid cases remains a pressing concern,” says lead author Dr David Sunkersing from the Institute of Health Informatics, University College London. “Our findings can help shape targeted interventions and support strategies for those most at risk.”