Long covid symptoms are often overlooked in seniors

[JAB]

Long covid symptoms are often overlooked in seniors
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Long covid refers to ongoing or new health problems that occur at
least four weeks after a covid infection, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Much about the condition is baffling:
There is no diagnostic test to confirm it, no standard definition of
the ailment and no way to predict who will be affected.

Common symptoms, which can last months or years, include fatigue,
shortness of breath, an elevated heart rate, muscle and joint pain,
sleep disruptions, and problems with attention, concentration,
language and memory -- a set of difficulties known as brain fog.

Ongoing inflammation or a dysfunctional immune response may be
responsible, along with reservoirs of the virus that remain in the
body, small blood clots or residual damage to the heart, lungs,
vascular system, brain, kidneys or other organs.
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Effect on older adults

Only now is the impact on older adults beginning to be documented. In
a study published in the journal BMJ, researchers estimated that 32
percent of older adults in the United States who survived covid
infections had symptoms of long covid up to four months after
infection -- more than double the 14 percent rate an earlier study
found in adults ages 18 to 64. (Other studies suggest symptoms can
last much longer, for a year or more.)
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A study released last month from the CDC found that 1 out of every 4
older adults who survived covid experienced at least 1 of 26 common
symptoms associated with long covid, compared with 1 out of every 5
people between the ages of 18 and 64.

The higher rate of post-covid symptoms in older adults is probably
because of a higher incidence of chronic disease and physical
vulnerability in this population -- traits that have led to a greater
burden of serious illness, hospitalization and death among seniors
throughout the pandemic.

"On average, older adults are less resilient. They don't have the same
ability to bounce back from serious illness," said Ken Cohen, a
co-author of the study and executive director of translational
research for Optum Care. Optum Care is a network of physician
practices owned by UnitedHealth Group.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/26/long-covid-seniors/