COVID didn't grow vulnerability to illness: study
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The COVID-19 pandemic didn't make adults more susceptible to common infections and illnesses like asthma, COPD, pneumonia or the flu, a review of more than 256 million patient records concludes.
Why it matters: The findings add a new wrinkle to the debate over whether the virus can cause long-lasting changes to the immune system or whether the body's defenses reset themselves following recovery.
What they found: Epic Research analyzed records from 1,500 hospitals and more than 34,100 clinics, focusing on patients ages 18 to 50 and the prevalence of respiratory, gastrointestinal and infectious diseases.
- Asthma rates decreased from 7.84% in 2019 to 7.00% in 2023 while the prevalence of COPD and pneumonia also fell.
- Among infectious diseases, there was an increase in the rate of strep throat, going from 0.63% in 2019 to 0.85% in 2023, while the rates of shingles, sepsis, and influenza were mostly unchanged.
- Gastritis rates were higher in 2019 than 2023, while pancreatitis remained unchanged.
Yes, but: People with underlying health conditions like obesity and diabetes still can be more susceptible to serious illness when they contract COVID.
Between the lines: Previous studies have concluded that COVID typically doesn't damage the immune system or make one more vulnerable to future infections.
- While some people have an irregular immune response that results in inflammation, most patients returned to normal over two to four months, researchers at the University of Manchester wrote last year.
- Even those with long COVID didn't have immune deficiencies.
- But other studies suggest inflammation from the immune response can result in long-term changes that could leave patients at risk of getting sick from other viruses in the future.
- And reinfections from COVID are common.
The bottom line: The Epic review and other signs point to no widespread immune deficiency among those who've had COVID.
