– Covid-19 is a multi-organ disease, and all research shows that it attacks the blood vessels in the body. There are many indications that there is an increased risk of many serious diseases for at least one year after being ill, says researcher and doctor Gunhild Alvik Nyborg. Doctor and researcher Gunhild Alvik Nyborg. Photo: Private Up to now, more than 630 million people worldwide have been affected by covid-19. Scientists are increasingly becoming aware of the serious consequences of undergoing the infection. The renowned medical journal Nature has this year published two major studies on the late effects of the disease. The results are disturbing to say the least. Alarming findings in corona study One of the studies shows that the risk of developing heart disease increases considerably, for at least one year after the disease. Even those who have had a mild course do not escape. – It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old, or whether you smoke or not. The risk is there, study co-author Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, told Nature. The peer-reviewed study compared the health records of over 150,000 US veterans. The researchers found that those who had undergone covid-19 had a more than 70 percent higher chance of being affected by heart failure. The risk of having a stroke also increased by more than 50 percent, compared to people who have not been infected. In addition, the risk of developing other neurological diseases rose dramatically. The studies also show that those who have undergone illness with a serious course are most at risk. Other researchers have also reached similar results. – Underestimating the danger news recently told about an unusually high number of emergency admissions to hospitals in South-Eastern Norway. At the same time, significant excess mortality is being reported in Norway and Europe in 2022. Earlier this year, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reported 1,200 more cardiac deaths than expected in 2021. Other countries also report an unusually high number of cardiac deaths. Assistant director of health Espen Rostrup Nakstad believes that the excess mortality and emergency admissions are partly due to more elderly people being exposed to the disease. In addition, far more deaths from covid-19 have been recorded this year than earlier in the pandemic. Doctor and researcher Gunhild Nyborg, on the other hand, fears that Norwegian health authorities are underestimating the virus. – I have tried to warn about this. It is quite logical that serious late effects are one of the reasons for the high mortality rate, although other factors also play a role. The individual risk is quite small. But when so many people are infected at the same time, many will still get these diseases. It is worrying that data suggests that young people are also at risk, says Nyborg. Mortality has increased sharply in Europe in 2022. Photo: Eurostat Calls for corona measures Nyborg believes the research is so clear that the health authorities should intervene to slow down the infection. – We are not talking about shutting down society. Air purification, good ventilation and a mask are good measures. Mass testing also limits infection a lot and effectively, she says. Nyborg is a postdoctoral fellow at the New England Complex Systems Institute in the USA, with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as his field of work. She has observed what she believes to be a dangerous development. – It seems as if an opinion has taken hold that this is just a cold, which we just have to live with. It is not. We can limit the infection with measures that will require effort, but without closing down and restricting people’s freedom. There is no doubt that there is a connection between covid-19 and serious diseases such as heart attacks and blood clots. Nyborg has recently participated in an expert panel of 386 experts from 112 countries, to find solutions in the fight against the pandemic. – This was a consensus process, where the goal was to make recommendations to governments, health authorities, industry and other key players. The goal is to bring about a change to end the pandemic. Because it’s not over. Doctor Arne Søraas believes people should now consider getting tested if they get symptoms of corona. Photo: Halldor Asvall / news – Should be tested for corona Doctor and researcher Arne Søraas is also worried. He has led the Norwegian Corona Study, which has, among other things, looked at the long-term effects of covid-19. – We must realize that covid-19 is not just a harmless cold. Just spreading the virus, and not testing yourself, feels like bad advice now, says Søraas. He also believes that much of the research on dangerous late effects appears to be solid and credible. – These are good studies published in a well-reputed journal, and with good control groups, says Søraas, who hopes the health authorities will evaluate the research thoroughly. He believes people should think about personal hygiene, and consider getting tested if they get symptoms. – It may be wise for you, but also for the sake of others. Nakstad: – Masks make sense Assistant Director of Health Espen Rostrup Nakstad says that the Directorate of Health is following developments closely. – It is not unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 infection, with its accompanying immune response, can increase the incidence of certain other diseases, as we also see with a number of other infectious diseases. Assistant director of health Espen Rostrup Nakstad. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – Should you make a recommendation about face masks and self-testing? – A mask is still sensible to use if you yourself are contagious and will have close contact with particularly vulnerable people. If you fall ill and wonder if you have covid-19, or plan to brave mild symptoms to visit vulnerable people, it is still a good idea to take a self-test, says Nakstad. He does not rule out that the health authorities will come up with new recommendations this winter. – If the infection in society increases in the winter and the pressure on the health service becomes very great, we will more actively encourage the use of self-tests and perhaps ask people to register their test results on the municipalities’ websites. In any case, the most important thing is to avoid infecting others who are exposed to covid-19 disease. FHI points to weaknesses Subject director Preben Aavitsland at the Institute of Public Health writes in an e-mail to news that FHI is aware of the results of the research, and that they take it seriously. He still believes that it is too early to draw conclusions, and points to weaknesses in one of the most important studies. Subject director Preben Aavitsland in the Institute of Public Health. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Aavitsland believes it is possible that many of the test subjects in the study may have had heart disease before. “It could be that those who become so acutely ill from covid-19 that they go to the emergency room are people who already have risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, which they then get later. For example, obesity is a risk factor for both more serious covid-19 and for cardiovascular disease,” writes Aavitsland.
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Fears deadly consequences of covid-19 – researcher calls for measures to slow the corona infection – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
