Hair Loss and Sexual Dysfunction are New Long COVID Symptoms

The list of long COVID symptoms is growing, with researchers adding two new medical conditions. Hair loss and low libido are now being seen among those with long COVID, a medical condition in which some of those infected with the COVID virus continue experiencing health issues “long after” recovery from the virus.

A study conducted by the United Kingdom’s University of Birmingham and published in the journal Nature Medicine found new symptoms for adults who are suffering from long COVID, despite not being hospitalized.

The most common symptoms of long COVID include loss of sense of smell, shortness of breath, chest pain, and fever. The most common symptom for long COVID patients was fatigue followed by shortness of breath, a cough, and muscle ache.

However, that list is growing and now includes erectile dysfunction, hair loss, amnesia, hallucinations, bowel incontinence, limb swelling and apraxia (the inability to perform familiar movements and commands). The new list of symptoms was collected between January 2020 and April 2021 and was based on non-hospitalized patients.

"This research validates what patients have been telling clinicians and policy makers throughout the pandemic, that the symptoms of long COVID are extremely broad and cannot be fully accounted for by other factors such as lifestyle risk factors or chronic health conditions," said Dr. Shamil Haroon, an associate clinical professor in public health at the University of Birmingham, and the senior author on Monday’s study.

"The symptoms we identified should help clinicians and clinical guideline developers to improve the assessment of patients with long-term effects from COVID-19, and to subsequently consider how this symptom burden can be best managed," Haroon added.

Infected persons were also more likely to report 62 symptoms more frequently 12 weeks after their initial infection compared to those who never had COVID. The researchers grouped symptoms into three separate categories including respiratory symptoms, mental health and cognition, and a broader range of symptoms.

Long COVID showed up most often in women, people between the ages of 35 and 69 years old, people living in destitute locations, Black persons, and those employed in social care, teaching/education, healthcare, and people with previous health conditions and disabilities such as smokers or overweight individuals.

The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics reported in June that at least 2 million people are suffering from long COVID. Of those patients, 1.4 million said they first had COVID (or believed they had COVID) at least 12 weeks before their long COVID symptoms. At least 826,000 said it was a year earlier, and 376,000 said they had COVID two years prior to their long COVID symptoms.