Researchers within the RECOVER Initiative share their progress to understand, treat, and prevent Long COVID through research publications. Follow the latest science from RECOVER’s research studies below.
Visit the Research Summaries page to learn about RECOVER’s Long COVID research in a format that’s easy to understand.
Short SummaryPeople who had COVID-19 may develop Long COVID, which is when someone may experience various health issues after having COVID. Many of these problems are due to a strong reaction to the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the immune system (the body’s defense system that fights infections). This reaction can happen a long time after the virus is no longer in the body.
A healthy immune system can tell the difference between our body’s healthy cells and the harmful ones that can make us sick. However, an overactive immune system can make mistakes and cause harm because it may attack healthy organs and tissues. The immune system response to diseases like COVID is complex and different for each person.
It is important to understand how the immune system works after having COVID for many different people, and this may require large, long-term studies. This paper reviews researchers’ current knowledge and the gaps in their understanding about the immune response after a COVID infection and how that may lead to both short-term and long-term problems.
Short SummaryThis paper summarizes some work of the RECOVER Mechanistic Pathways Task Force. This group does research on what happens in body systems when people have Long COVID. In this study, the authors reviewed existing research about why and for how long SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, stays in the body. The authors also reviewed research on whether SARS-CoV-2 might become dormant (inactive) and then reactivate later as part of its natural lifecycle. They discuss whether the amount of time the virus stays in the body, also known as the “persistence” of the virus, could be related to whether or not people develop Long COVID. They also describe what is known so far about this topic, what we still need to find out, and the types of research studies that may help answer these questions.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers wanted to learn more about racial and ethnic differences in Long COVID. Researchers used patients’ electronic health records (EHRs) to compare people who had COVID based on their race or ethnicity, whether they were hospitalized due to COVID, and whether they had any health problems related to Long COVID. They looked at data from over 60,000 adults from 5 healthcare systems.
The researchers found that Black and Hispanic adults were more likely to have symptoms of Long COVID compared to White adults – this was true for adults who were and were not hospitalized. The reason for these differences is unclear.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers wanted to find environmental risk factors of Long COVID by comparing the environment of people who had Long COVID to people who didn’t have Long COVID. Environmental risk factors are things about where a person lives that raise their chance of having a health condition, such as air pollution and poor housing conditions. The researchers looked at data from electronic health records (EHRs) of more than 100,000 people in the New York City area and Florida.
The researchers found that people who lived in areas with higher levels of air pollution, more poverty, and less access to healthy food had a higher chance of getting Long COVID. People in the New York City area had different environmental risk factors than people in Florida.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers analyzed electronic health records (EHR) in order to define Long COVID. Researchers found up to 25 different symptoms that patients who had COVID were more likely to have than those who didn’t have COVID. The symptoms were related to many different organs, such as memory loss, hair loss, and feeling tired. They found that certain types of Long COVID symptoms were more likely to happen in patients who were older, had more severe COVID, or had more health problems before they had COVID.
This research is important because the findings show that Long COVID affects many organs, and types of Long COVID symptoms differ between certain groups of patients. However, EHR findings are limited in that they can only look at data from the patients' past. In order to confirm these findings, future studies that follow patients' symptoms over time, into the future, are needed.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers explored Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a Long COVID symptom where there is inflammation (swelling) of multiple organ systems. Researchers looked to see if MIS-C can be identified and managed in the home (outpatient) instead of in the hospital (inpatient).
An organ system is a collection of organs in your body dedicated to maintaining necessary functions. For example, your heart, arteries, and veins make up the Cardiovascular System--the system responsible for maintaining blood flow and delivering oxygen throughout the body.
Researchers were able to identify that in some patients, their MIS-C symptoms were mild enough to be treated at home and not require hospitalization. These results raise awareness that MIS-C can present in milder forms with the option to treat it at home if directed by a physician.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers wanted to identify conditions and symptoms associated with Long COVID in children (also known as pediatric Long COVID). The researchers analyzed electronic health record (EHR) data to detect conditions and symptoms associated with pediatric Long COVID. The study identified multiple conditions and body systems associated with pediatric Long COVID related to many different organs, such as heart and lung problems.
This research is important because these findings use a data-driven approach to detect several new or under-reported conditions and symptoms that should be studied further. Researchers believe that further study may reveal the biological processes that cause these Long COVID symptoms and conditions.
Short SummaryRECOVER researchers conducted a detailed review of published papers that try to explain how the COVID-19 virus causes the symptoms and conditions associated with Long COVID. Researchers compared how Long COVID is similar to other long-standing viral conditions (such as Epstein Barr virus, commonly known as Mono) to see if there is a common method used by COVID-19 and these other viral conditions to cause the associated symptoms and conditions.
RECOVER researchers believe that there is no one common method by which the COVID-19 virus causes the symptoms and conditions associated with Long COVID. Because there was no observed common method causing these Long COVID symptoms, researchers recommend that treatments are customized to each individual patient's specific symptoms and conditions.
