Indians who have recovered from Covid suffer more from lung functioning issues than the Europeans and the Chinese, according to a new study.
The lingering symptoms may take up to a year to subside in some cases while the rest may have to live with damaged lungs for the rest of their lives.
The study by the Christian Medical College, Vellore on the impact of COVID-19 on the functioning of lungs and quality of life in Indians, was published in the PLOS Global Public Health journal.
The study evaluated 207 Indians for an average period of 63 days from the onset of their symptoms, during the first week of the pandemic.
"It appears that our cohort of Indian subjects had more comorbidities and had more impairment of lung function than the European and Chinese patients," noted the study, touted as the first such report on Indians.
CMC said it's yet to be assessed if a large chunk of the Indian population is suffering from permanent lung function damage.