Both sample groups – which included more than 100,000 people in each – included patients who were still seeking treatment some three to six months after initial infection.
People who fall ill with flu can suffer long-term symptoms in a similar way to long Covid, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Oxford analysed the ongoing health records of patients diagnosed with the two viruses.
Persistent symptoms of both illnesses included abnormal breathing, fatigue and headaches.
“Many of us who have experienced flu know how you don’t always feel completely better as quickly as you’ve been hoping or expecting to,” said Professor Paul Harrison, one of the lead researchers.
Although there were signs that Covid patients were more likely to have long-term issues, the difference was relatively small: some 42 per cent of Covid patients were found to still be experiencing symptoms three months later compared to 30 per cent of those in the flu group.
Pertinently, the higher rate among Covid patients could also have been influenced by the fact that people may have been more likely to seek care for long-lasting issues because of greater fear around the illness.
However, researchers also emphasised that the study – published in the journal PLOS Medicine – had not analysed the severity of persistent symptoms for each illness.
They acknowledged that there was growing evidence that those who had fallen severely ill with Covid could have especially debilitating long-term issues.
They concluded that more research was needed for both viruses: “long-term symptoms from flu have probably been overlooked before,” said Dr Max Taquet, another of the lead researchers.
