Almost a tenth of people who contract Covid-19 in Abu Dhabi suffer lasting symptoms, a study has suggested.
The vast majority of the others make a full recovery.
The study of 2,000 former coronavirus sufferers in Abu Dhabi found 92 per cent recovered with no lasting symptoms, while 8 per cent experienced lasting effects - similar to international findings, officials said.
Five per cent experienced symptoms for more than eight weeks.
Long Covid, a mysterious condition that affects a small but significant percentage of people who recover initially from the coronavirus, causes symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath and depression.
Mood and energy levels were the most common symptoms of long Covid, with 52 per cent feeling tired, 35 per cent having a persistent cough and 27 per cent reporting a negative mood
Department of Health Abu Dhabi
“Mood and energy levels were the most common symptoms of long Covid, with 52 per cent feeling tired, 35 per cent having a persistent cough and 27 per cent reporting a negative mood,” said Department of Health Abu Dhabi, which conducted the study.
It said that 52 per cent of respondents with long Covid "were able to do their day-to-day activities as normal”.
The study also found adults were twice as likely as children to be taken to hospital.
The risk for people aged 40 or older was 2.5 times as great as the risk for children.
However, the need for hospital treatment was “rare for those aged 19 or under without comorbidities,” said the department.
The risk was higher in certain groups, including smokers, vapers, and people who were severely overweight or had asthma.
“Comorbidities were present in many people who developed severe Covid-19 symptoms, or required hospitalisation,” said the department.
In total, 6 per cent of smokers and 13 per cent of vapers who took part in the study required treatment in hospital.
The results also suggested obese people were three times more likely to need hospital care than those of a healthy weight.
Of those who required treatment in hospital, 31 per cent were obese, 24 per cent had asthma, 14 per cent had a respiratory condition, 14 per cent had high blood pressure and 6 per cent had diabetes.
People who suffer severe Covid-19 are more at risk of lingering symptoms.
But long Covid can also affect those who had mild initial illness.
More than 200 symptoms of the condition have been identified, including hallucinations, tremors, itchy skin, changes to the menstrual cycle, sexual dysfunction, heart palpitations, bladder control issues, shingles, memory loss, blurred vision, diarrhoea and tinnitus. Fatigue and brain fog are the most common.
The cause of long Covid is still not understood.
But one theory is that its symptoms could be caused by an autoimmune response to the initial infection.
Autoimmune disease happens when antibodies, which the body makes to fight illness, mistakenly attack normal cells.
Researchers from Imperial College London found a pattern of rogue antibodies in the blood of a small number of people with long-Covid symptoms.
The so-called autoantibodies were not present in people who recovered quickly.
The researchers hope to develop a blood test to diagnose the condition, which will be ready in six to 18 months.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Fast%20X
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Louis%20Leterrier%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Michelle%20Rodriguez%2C%20Jason%20Statham%2C%20Tyrese%20Gibson%2C%20Ludacris%2C%20Jason%20Momoa%2C%20John%20Cena%2C%20Jordana%20Brewster%2C%20Nathalie%20Emmanuel%2C%20Sung%20Kang%2C%20Brie%20Larson%2C%20Helen%20Mirren%20and%20Charlize%20Theron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
The five pillars of Islam
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
