Study says it takes patients longer to recover mentally from COVID symptoms

A recent UCLA-led study found that it takes people experiencing symptoms of COVID longer to recover mentally than physically.

According to a release, “people with COVID-like symptoms returned to optimal physical well-being an average of three months after infection but took up to nine months to return to top mental well-being.” 20% of participants still reported a low quality of life due to their health one year after being sick.

Of the study participants, those that tested negative for COVID were more likely to experience lower quality of life due to their health in the year after infection.

The researchers reported, “Regardless, approximately 1 in 5 respondents remained in the poor overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) group with a high likelihood of self-reporting long COVID up to 12 months after initial infection.”

The study is published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.