Younger and middle-aged adults have worse long COVID symptoms than older adults

According to new research published in the Annals of Neurology, Northwestern Medicine researchers found on an average of 10 months after COVID-19 onset, younger (ages 18-44) and middle-aged (ages 45-64) adults had worse neurologic symptoms of long COVID than adults 65 and older.

Symptoms included headache, numbness and tingling, problems with smell and taste, blurred vision, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and a decrease in cognitive function. These symptoms occurred regardless of if the patient had mild or severe COVID-19 infections.

Study highlights:

• The study included the first 1,300 patients at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic with neurologic long COVID symptoms between May 2020 and March 2023.
• Among those patients, 200 had been previously hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia while the rest had mild initial COVID-19 symptoms and never required hospitalization.
• The study is a first-of-its-kind to look at the neurologic symptoms of long COVID over an adult lifespan.
• The goal was to determine if the neurologic symptoms of long COVID affect adults differently based on their age group.

Northwestern Medicine release on Newswise