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.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HAJJAN
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
