Latest news with #NisreenAlwan
Euronews
18-03-2025
- Health
- Euronews
1 in 10 people aren't sure if they have long COVID. Why?
Nearly one in 10 people are uncertain about whether or not they have long COVID, according to a new analysis of survey data that comes five years after the pandemic forced people across the globe to stay at home to prevent the virus' spread. Based on a National Health Service (NHS) England survey of more than 750,000 people, the new study also shows that almost one in 20 people have long COVID, which is the name for lasting symptoms of COVID-19. The chronic post-viral condition includes symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, shortness of breath, and muscle pain. Those suffering from the condition have said it can lead to severe exhaustion and prevent them from leading normal lives. The study, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Health Expectations, also found that those living in deprived areas were more likely to have long COVID. Experts say the study's findings are in line with other prevalence estimates and added that there could be multiple factors to explain why people are unsure if they have the condition. 'If you are not told that you have long COVID, so if you don't have a clinical diagnosis… then you're likely to be unsure whether it is long COVID,' Nisreen Alwan, a professor of public health at the University of Southampton in the UK and one of the study's authors, told Euronews Health. A person saying their health deteriorated after COVID-19, which some may regard as a mild infection, 'is quite heavily stigmatised,' Alwan added, which may prevent people from talking about it or seeking diagnosis or support. The authors found that the prevalence of long COVID significantly increased with deprivation. Several groups were more likely to report having long COVID, including women, parents or carers, people who were gay, lesbian, or bisexual, as well as certain ethnic groups such as White Gypsy and Irish Traveller or those with mixed or multiple ethnic groups, and people with a long-term condition. Meanwhile, young people, men, those who were heterosexual or non‐binary, and people from other White, Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Black, or Arab backgrounds, as well as former and current smokers, were more likely to be unsure about whether they had long COVID, the authors said. 'Five years into this discussion, it [has] never been more important to have strong estimates of caseload and patient burden to support discussions on healthcare planning and medical research needs,' said Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London who was not involved in the new study. He added in an email to Euronews Health that 'there's less and less tolerance for any further discussion of COVID-19 legacies and healthcare needs and a call to 'just move on''. A study published in Nature Medicine in 2024 estimated that 400 million people have long COVID globally, with an annual economic impact equivalent to $1 trillion (€954.4 billion). 'Long COVID patient groups around the world are (quite rightly) feeling desperate and let down. Many have lost their old jobs and their old lives,' Altmann said, adding that many longer cases of long COVID are in people who were unable to self-isolate in the early days of the pandemic. Researchers said the findings show a need for more awareness about the condition among the public and health workers as well as a need for better distribution of diagnosis, treatment, and support. 'Long COVID widens health inequalities, and we need to be very sensitive about that and address how we support people who are more disadvantaged if they have long COVID,' said Alwan, including encouraging them to access support and health services. Eating out with friends was a constant source of anxiety for Dulcie, a 23-year-old research student from the UK. Her throat would gurgle loudly, and her chest would tighten as gas painfully expanded in her stomach. Then one night, while scrolling on her phone, she saw a video about a rare condition - and suddenly her physical discomfort made sense: she'd never been able to burp. Retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (R-CPD), also known as "no-burp syndrome," was formally identified as a medical condition in 2019, following a case series published in the National Library of Medicine by Dr Robert Bastian of the Bastian Voice Institute in the US state of Illinois. Awareness has grown since, giving sufferers a name for their affliction and online spaces to connect - most notably the noburp subreddit, which has nearly 35,000 members. "Now I know what R-CPD is, I blame it for many of the barriers to generally good physical and mental health that I face," Dulcie told Euronews Health, explaining that she also believes the condition could be the cause of her severe phobia of vomiting due to the build-up of pressure in the chest that sometimes leads to nausea. "It is actually maddening how something many consider so unimportant, burping, can actually have such a profound effect on the quality of somebody's life," she added. Despite growing evidence of its mental and physical toll, R-CPD remains widely unrecognised amongst healthcare professionals due to research being in its infancy - and societal perceptions around burping. "There is a treatment for the condition, but it is not NHS [the UK's National Health Service] approved yet because lots of doctors don't know about the condition, or don't consider it to be a problem," Mr Yakubu Karagama, laryngologist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, told King's Health Partners. "It's currently being seen as a social issue, but it's not a social issue it's a health issue". This lack of medical acknowledgment has led many people to self-diagnose online and seek out costly treatment options. For most of us, burping is as natural as breathing, aside from the occasional post-fizzy drink exorcism. When excess air accumulates in our stomachs, the lower oesophageal sphincter - a valve that acts as a barrier between our throat and stomach - relaxes. This allows air to move up through our oesophagus and out of our mouths, resulting in a (hopefully) satisfying belch. In those with R-CPD, it's thought that the cricopharyngeus muscle, an entry valve located in our upper oesophagus, is unable to relax as it should, leaving the air trapped. "That retrograde dysfunction, that absence of relaxation of that upper sphincter, so that the air can't get out, leads [people] not to be able to burp. As a consequence, the air is trapped in their oesophagus, so that often they'll feel a substernal pressure," said Dr Lee Akst, a leading laryngologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine. "The associated symptoms are, I feel bloated, I have a gurgling sensation, I have chest or abdominal discomfort, and I feel as if I'm more flatulent than my friends who can burp because of the physical consequences of the air being trapped". For 41-year-old *Amelia, who has been formally diagnosed with R-CPD, these side effects led to a complete avoidance of public eating and drinking. "I couldn't drink with my food, couldn't enjoy nights out or meals out. It was embarrassing, painful and socially debilitating". A recent study conducted by Texan academics found that those unable to burp were more likely to struggle with anxiety, depression, and embarrassment, along with facing negative impacts on their work and relationships. "Sitting up at my desk for full days is actively painful," Dulcie said. "It means I can't do anything in my evenings because I have to lie down for the gurgles and pain to subside". Usually diagnosed with an endoscopy, the main treatment available for R-CPD is botulinum toxin (botox) injections into the cricopharyngeus muscle, relaxing it and allowing air to pass through. Only a limited number of doctors currently offer the procedure, which costs upwards of £3,000 (€3,621) through select private healthcare providers, according to a UK petition calling for funding on the NHS. This can sometimes be covered by insurance, according to anecdotal posts on the noburp subreddit, although there's no guarantee due to the condition still being so new and unknown. The botox lasts about three months, but during that time, patients can achieve longer-term results by relearning control of their upper oesophageal sphincter, according to Akst at Johns Hopkins. "About 90 per cent of people who are treated begin to burp, and about 90 per cent of those people who begin to burp can continue to burp even after six months or so, even after the drug is gone, because they've hopefully learned some degree of volitional control over that valve". As with all medical treatments, there are some risks. The primary function of the cricopharyngeus muscle is to prevent acid reflux, which could temporarily worsen after being relaxed, Akst explained. He also noted that some patients' swallowing becomes more hesitant. "The oesophagus is trying to squeeze the food down, but that valve above it is open. It's like trying to squeeze a tube of toothpaste if you've cut the back end of the tube off. You can't build the same pressure wave in only one direction. And so, often after this surgery, people feel as if their swallowing is slower," he said. However, those Euronews Health spoke to who have had the procedure found the benefits far outweigh the costs. "Best money I've ever spent," Amelia said, adding that she paid £5,000 (€6,038) six years ago. "There's so much I can do now that I couldn't do before. I can enjoy meals out, sit in quiet rooms, and rarely fart. Burping is subconscious to me now, just a normal part of life," she said. Meanwhile, Dulcie is booked in for treatment in the UK soon. "If this works, it will change my life. I'll be able to eat a full meal out with my friends without having to retreat home to gurgle in peace afterwards. I'll be able to drink a lemonade or a beer without feeling like I might explode. I'll be able to get into normal eating habits," she said. For those that can't afford the treatment, certain head and neck exercises can sometimes help encourage burping. "Practice with chin postures, either tucking it down or bringing it forward or turning it left or turning it right. And see if you can turn that little kind of croaky, slow motion gas escape into an honest to goodness burp and try to practice it in that fashion," Akst said. "But again, success rates are fairly anecdotal. There's not one regimen that everybody uses". Sam, a 31-year-old parcel sorter from France, found relief by consistently practicing physical shaker exercises, intended to improve swallowing. "My first burp was a micro burp and was not very spectacular. But when I did a second one a long time later, then I started to have hope,' he said. "I've learned to control [burping] more calmly and today it's much better. I burp after my meals, after my drinks, all day long. I feel much lighter," he added. * Name has been changed at the request of the interviewee. Those we spoke to with R-CPD agreed to talk to Euronews Health about their experiences but did not want their surnames to appear in print for privacy reasons.
BBC News
18-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Long Covid: Almost one in 10 may have condition, research finds
Almost one in 10 people in England think they could have long Covid, according to analysis of national of Southampton researchers examined information collected by NHS England that showed 4.8% of people reported having the analysis of more than 750,000 responses to the GP Patient Survey also found that 9.1% of people believe they may have long Covid is a chronic condition induced by Covid-19 infection, with symptoms including fatigue, feeling short of breath, brain fog, and heart palpitations. The information also shows higher rates of long Covid in deprived areas and people with particular ethnic backgrounds, parents, carers and those with another long-term Nisreen Alwan, who co-authored the study, said the analysis "adds further evidence of the unfairness of long Covid", with people who are "already disadvantaged in society more likely to be affected"."It also shows us that many people aren't sure if they have it, and may need diagnosis, treatment and support."He said the condition was "still a very significant issue impacting individuals, families, the economy and wider society"."We need to do more to prevent it, diagnose it, and properly support people who are affected by it," he found that people aged under 25, males, from particular ethnic minorities, or those without long-term conditions were more likely to be unsure if they had long also found men who thought they may have the condition were generally less likely to seek medical advice than Woodrow, who is studying for a PhD at Southampton, carried out the analysis: "We were really surprised to find so many people weren't sure whether they had long Covid or not, and the study shows there is still work to do to increase awareness of the condition and remove barriers to accessing diagnosis, treatment and support.""We don't want long Covid to be another factor that contributes to the widening health gap in the UK." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
