The Omicron variant of coronavirus is less likely to cause long COVID than previous variants, according to the first peer-reviewed study of its kind from the UK.
Researchers at King’s College London, using data from the ZOE COVID Symptom study app, found the odds of developing long COVID after infection were 20 percent to 50 percent lower during the Omicron wave in the UK compared to Delta. The figure varied depending on the patient’s age and the timing of their last vaccination.
Long COVID, which includes prolonged symptoms ranging from fatigue to “brain fog,” can be debilitating and continue for weeks or months. It is increasingly being recognized as a public health problem, and researchers have been racing to find out if Omicron presents as big a risk of long COVID as previously dominant variants.
Photo: Pixabay 照片：Pixabay
The study from King’s is believed to be the first academic research to show Omicron does not present as great a risk of long COVID, but that does not mean long COVID patient numbers are dropping, the team said.
While the risk of long COVID was lower during Omicron, more people were infected, so the absolute number now suffering is higher.
“It’s good news, but please don’t decommission any of your long COVID services,” lead researcher Dr Claire Steves told Reuters, appealing to health-service providers.
Photo: Pixabay 照片：Pixabay
The UK’s Office for National Statistics said in May that 438,000 people in the country have long COVID after Omicron infection, representing 24 percent of all long COVID patients.
It also said the risk of lingering symptoms after Omicron was lower than with Delta, but only for double-vaccinated people. It found no statistical difference for those who were triple vaccinated.
In the King’s research, 4.5 percent of the 56,003 people studied during Omicron’s peak, December 2021-March 2022, reported long COVID. That compared to 10.8 percent of 41,361 people during the Delta wave, June-November 2021. It did not compare vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
While the study — published in The Lancet journal on Thursday last week — compared Delta and Omicron, Dr Steves said previous work had showed no substantial difference in long COVID risk between other variants.
More work was needed to establish why Omicron may have a lower long COVID risk, the team added.
(Reuters)
英國一項研究顯示，冠狀病毒之Omicron變異株跟之前的變種相比，較不易導致「長新冠」後遺症。這是首件經同儕審查的此類研究。
倫敦大學國王學院研究人員分析應用程式「ZOE新型冠狀病毒疾病症狀研究」之資料，發現與Delta變異株相比，在英國這波Omicron疫情期間，感染後發生COVID後遺症的機率低了百分之二十至百分之五十，數字因患者之年齡及上一次接種疫苗的時間而異。
COVID後遺症包括從疲倦到「腦霧」的長期症狀，可使人虛弱，並持續數週或數月。它越來越被認為是公共衛生問題，研究人員一直在競相找出Omicron的後遺症風險是否跟先前的主要變異株一樣高。
國王學院研究小組表示，此研究據信為第一項表明Omicron的COVID後遺症風險並不如此高的學術研究，但這不表示COVID後遺症患者的人數正在下降。
雖然感染Omicron後導致COVID後遺症的風險較低，但因Omicron的感染人數更多，所以現在苦於此後遺症的絕對人數更高。
「這是個好消息，但請不要停止對COVID後遺症的任何治療」，研究計畫主持人克萊兒‧史帝芙斯博士在接受路透社訪問時，對醫療業提出此呼籲。
英國國家統計局在五月表示，有四十三萬八千人在感染Omicron後患有COVID後遺症，佔英國所有COVID後遺症患者的百分之二十四。
它還表示，感染Omicron後有持續症狀的風險低於感染Delta，但這只是對接種兩劑疫苗的人而言，而接種三劑疫苗的人在統計上並無差異。
國王學院在二○二一年十二月至二○二二年三月Omicron疫情高峰期間所研究的五萬六千零三人中，有百分之四點五的人表示有COVID後遺症。而在二○二一年六月至十一月的Delta變異株疫情期間所研究的四萬一千三百六十一人，有COVID後遺症的比例則為百分之十點八。此研究並未對疫苗接種者及未接種者做比較。
雖然這項上週四發表於《刺胳針》期刊的研究比較了Delta及Omicron變異株的情況，但史帝芙斯博士表示，先前的研究顯示，其他變異株之間的COVID後遺症風險並無實質差異。
該研究小組補充說，Omicron的COVID後遺症風險可能較低之原因，需要做更多研究才能確定。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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