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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Recently, the Academy of Medicine alerted to the neurological consequences of the long Covid. Today, an American study finds its harmful effects on sleep.
The signs of Covid-19 disappear in most cases within 2 to 3 weeks. If the symptoms still persist 4 weeks after contracting the disease, we can speak of “Long Covid”. Several epidemiological studies have agreed that 10 to 30% of individuals who have developed Covid-19 are likely to show signs of long Covid.
Its symptoms vary depending on the patient. They can be physical, psychological or physiological. Among them, one comes up often: fatigue. To this fatigue, can be added sleep disorders (insomnia), debilitating symptoms for patients on a daily basis.
40% of long Covid affected
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic (United States) collected data from 962 patients with long Covid for just over a year, from February 2021 to April 2022. The participants were questioned in particular about their sleep habits and their state of fatigue. Presented on June 6 at the conference SLEEP 2022 organized by theAssociated Professional Sleep Societiesthe results of the study revealed some rather worrying figures.
American scientists have thus discovered that more than 40% of patients with long Covid had moderate (41.3% of them) to severe (8%) sleep disorders. 67.2% of patients surveyed had moderate fatigue and 21.8% severe fatigue.
“The signs of coronavirus can be neurological, one of them is anosmia (loss of taste and smell). It is therefore not surprising that the virus takes hold in areas of the brain that regulate sleep, such as the hypothalamus for example”explains Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician.
Profiles more affected than others
Research has highlighted disparities between patients, which mirror those preexisting in society.
Depending on their characteristics, some individuals will be more likely to suffer from sleep disorders. This would be particularly the case for patients with a high body mass index (BMI), patients with black skin and those who suffer from anxiety. According to the study, African-American patients are 3 times more likely to suffer from sleep disorders.
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Be careful not to associate everything with the long Covid
For Dr Gérald Kierzek, the results of this study remain “very hypothetical”. What is the part of the real? Sleep disturbances are the result “of physical and psychological imbrications”. They can be due to other pathologies, such as stress for example.
“Among the participants, there are probably many who suffer from a long Covid but some have other pathologies. The challenge is to be able to eliminate all other pathologies before establishing the diagnosis of long Covid”observes Dr Gérald Kierzek.