Among patients seen at long-COVID clinics in four countries, older people were the most likely to report symptoms and have abnormal chest imaging and lung function tests, finds a study published late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Researchers in Israel, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland followed 2,333 COVID-19 survivors for an average of 5 months to compare symptoms between patients ages 18 to 65 years and those 66 years and older and identify risk factors for persistent fatigue and shortness of breath.

Average patient age was 51 years, 20.5% were 66 years and older, and all were interviewed at one of five hospital-based long-COVID clinics or through phone interviews from May 2020 to March 2021.

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