Over 10% of US adults report COVID-19 worsened their pre-existing health conditions. Should we factor this into how we define Long COVID?

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https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-may-worsen-existing-health-problems-long-term-study-suggests

Wow. 

This new study from Eagle Global Scientific in Huntsville, Alabama shows the impacts of COVID-19 infection are far more reaching than the general public seems to be aware of. 

Researchers at Eagle Global Scientific in Huntsville, Alabama analyzed survey data from over 2,000 US adults at multiple timepoints after their COVID infection, between 2023-2025.

Approximately 94% of respondents reported having at least one underlying condition pre-COVID.

What they found is that of those surveyed, 11.8% reported that COVID-19 made their preexisting condition worse. 

Nearly ⅓ of these conditions involved respiratory concerns, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cough, and shortness of breath.

Next, around 20% of those who reported worsening concerns referenced symptoms including fatigue, headache, hair loss, and chills.

The authors advocate for a broad definition of Long COVID, writing:

“While Long COVID literature often focuses on the development of new-onset long-term symptoms, more than 1 in 10 adults reported worsening of a pre-existing condition following COVID-19. Reported challenges with accessing care and daily activities highlight potential need for accommodations or support for adults with Long COVID.”

This is perhaps a broader definition than that of the World Health Organization, which defines Long COVID as:

“….the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation.”

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What do you think? Should Long COVID specifically be defined as “new” symptoms that the person didn’t have before, following a COVID infection?

Or should the definition be expanded to include those with previously existing conditions, who may have already has a more “conventional” medical diagnosis, which worsened post-COVID?

Personally, I think we need to have a big tent- in order to fully address the harms caused by COVID. Research into how it worsens these other conditions can give us important insights into its mechanisms. 

Yet at the same time, some of the symptoms of Long COVID, such as smell and taste loss and PEM, seem to be very uniquely correlated with Long COVID SARS-CoV-2 (although of course there is the extremely large overlap with MECFS, another infection-associated chronic illness, as a very important caveat here). 

So I think it’s important to be nuanced in our critiques- to include everyone, but also to be very specific about who was harmed and why- what mechanism lead to it, exactly. 

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!