New study: post-COVID recovery is often slow
Researchers at the University of Groningen followed 809 people and found persistent symptoms particularly among older participants.
A Dutch study shows that symptoms in people with post-COVID usually decrease, but often only after months. The results provide a more nuanced picture than the claim that nine in ten patients do not fully recover.
The researchers analysed data from 809 adults in the Lifelines population study. Between March 2020 and October 2022, the participants completed a total of 31 health questionnaires. The study was published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe and is peer-reviewed.
In the study, recovery was defined as a reduction in symptoms to their pre-infection level. Such a reduction was observed in 558 participants. A statistical estimate put the recovery rate at 92 per cent within 24 months, but that percentage does not mean that every participant was entirely symptom-free or that all effects on work and daily life had disappeared.
The median time until symptoms decreased was 226 days. Most improvement took place in the first 235 days; thereafter, the recovery rate slowed. The study therefore examined the course of symptoms within this study group, not a universal timetable for everyone with post-COVID.
The likelihood of recovery was lower among participants with more symptoms at the start of the analysis. Older participants also had, on average, a greater risk of prolonged problems. The researchers therefore stress that support remains necessary for people whose symptoms persist.
Post-COVID is not a single symptom. The World Health Organization describes the condition as persistent or newly arising symptoms following a SARS-CoV-2 infection, usually from three months after the onset of the illness and lasting for at least two months. Fatigue, shortness of breath and problems with concentration are among the commonly reported symptoms.
The study has limitations. The data come from a Dutch population cohort, and the infections took place largely during the first years of the pandemic. The findings therefore do not directly indicate how every current patient will recover and do not constitute personal medical advice.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The study data and the WHO definition were checked directly. The original nine-in-ten claim has been replaced by the more precise finding that symptom reduction within 24 months was estimated for 92 per cent in this study.
- confirmed The study analysed 809 adults from the Lifelines cohort. — This is stated in the publication’s abstract. source
- confirmed A reduction in symptoms to baseline or lower was observed in 558 participants. — The researchers report this number in the abstract. source
- confirmed The estimated symptom reduction within 24 months was 92 per cent. — This is the Kaplan–Meier estimate in the study. source
- confirmed The median time until symptoms decreased was 226 days. — The study gives 226 days and an interquartile range of 182 to 372 days. source
- incorrect Nine in ten patients with post-COVID do not fully recover. — The study instead found symptom reduction within 24 months in 92 per cent, with symptom reduction not equivalent to being fully symptom-free. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: Nine in ten patients with post-COVID do not fully recover.Now: In this study, symptoms decreased within 24 months to the individual baseline or lower in an estimated 92 per cent of participants; this is not the same as complete recovery. (The study definition measures symptom reduction relative to baseline, not the complete disappearance of all symptoms.)
Editor's note
The study is peer-reviewed and based on 809 participants. The supplied claim that nine in ten patients do not fully recover is not confirmed by this study; recovery here is defined as a reduction in symptoms to the individual baseline, not as guaranteed complete recovery.Sources
- Recovery trajectories and predictors of symptom resolution in post-COVID-19 condition — PubMed / The Lancet Regional Health – Europe
- Onderzoeksbeschrijving van de studie — Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
- Post COVID-19 condition (long COVID) — World Health Organization
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „postcovid long covid”
- de Volkskrant — „postcovid long covid”
- RTL Nieuws — „postcovid long covid”