THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of American adults are struggling with Long COVID, and a fifth have symptoms so debilitating they interfere with daily activities, a new report finds.

"Frequently reported symptoms include fatigue that interferes with daily life, difficulty thinking or concentrating, cough and heart palpitations," explained a team of researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, Long COVID can include "a wide range of ongoing symptoms," such as fatigue, brain fog, feeling exhausted after exercise, coughing, shortness of breath, sleep troubles, depression/anxiety, joint pain, gastro issues and more.

"Most people with Long COVID symptoms see significant improvement after 3 months, while others may see improvement up to 6 months after symptoms first appear," the CDC noted.

Just how widespread is Long COVID?

In the new study, researchers led by Nicole Ford of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases looked at 2023 federal data surveying American adults.

They found that about 1 in every 16 adults (6.4%) surveyed said that they were currently suffering from Long COVID, which was defined as having persistent symptoms last 3 months or more after a bout of COVID-19.

Of those with Long COVID, 19.8% "reported significant activity limitations due to their symptoms," Ford's group reported.

That meant that everyday home and work activities like walking, exercise, shopping, housework and the like were curtailed "a lot" by ongoing Long COVID symptoms, the authors said.

All of this means many Americans with Long COVID "might require additional supports to aid recovery, such as health care resources and workplace accommodations," the CDC team said.

Of course, the best way to avoid Long COVID is to not get COVID (or a severe case of COVID) in the first place.

"These findings support the ongoing importance of tools to reduce the risk for Long COVID, including vaccination," Ford and colleagues stressed.

The findings were published Dec. 19 in the CDC's journal Morbidity and Mortality Report.

More information

Find out more about Long COVID at the Cleveland Clinic.

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Report, Dec. 19, 2024