Study says risk of long COVID remains high 2 years after initial infection

(CNN) - A study found the risk of a medley of symptoms called long COVID-19 remains elevated two years after recovering from the initial infection.

Researchers analyzed two years of hospital data for adults and kids from an electronic health records network.

The study was published Wednesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.

They looked at 1.25 million patients two years after their COVID diagnosis and compared them with a closely matched group of people who had a different respiratory infection.

They found the risk of adults developing seizure disorders, brain fog, dementia and other mental health conditions remain high two years after recovering from COVID.

They also discovered kids had an increased risk of being diagnosed with epilepsy or seizures, encephalitis and nerve root disorders.

There was also a small but worrisome risk of kids being diagnosed with a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia or delusional thinking.

The study could not tell if people had experienced ongoing symptoms for the full two years since their COVID diagnosis.

It is important to note, the actual risk of any of these conditions following COVID-19 remains low.

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