New study finds about 30 pct of COVID-19 patients develop "Long COVID"

LOS ANGELES, April 20 (Xinhua) -- About 30 percent of people treated for COVID-19 developed Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), most commonly known as "Long COVID", according to a new study of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The UCLA researchers studied 1,038 people who were enrolled in the UCLA COVID Ambulatory Program between April 2020 and February 2021.

Of those, 309 developed Long COVID, according to the study. The most persistent symptoms were fatigue and shortness of breath in hospitalized persons, and loss of sense of smell in outpatients.

People with a history of hospitalization, diabetes, and higher body mass index were most likely to develop the condition, said the researchers.