Study finds a quarter of people with COVID-19 sought care for new medical problems 

A quarter of people who had COVID-19 sought care for new medical problems at least a month after their diagnosis, according to a large study published on Tuesday, indicating the prevalence of long-haul COVID-19.

The research conducted by nonprofit FAIR Health determined from private health insurance claims that 23.2 percent of COVID-19 patients — amounting to more than 450,000 people — sought care for at least one post-COVID-19 symptom at least 30 days after diagnosis.

The study analyzed health records from almost 2 million people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between February and December 2020 and tracked whether they developed new symptoms until February 2021.

FAIR Health said the research is the largest to its knowledge looking into long-haul conditions among COVID-19 patients.

Results: The most common new post-COVID-19 condition reported by the hundreds of thousands of patients was pain — including nerve inflammation and aches and pains — with more than 5 percent, or almost 100,000, reporting the symptom.

Patients did not have to have symptomatic COVID-19 to develop these conditions, as 19 percent of people who said they were asymptomatic reported these symptoms at least a month after diagnosis. Almost 50 percent of patients who were hospitalized later reported post-COVID-19 conditions, as did 27 percent of those who reported mild or moderate symptoms.