Not sure why this is downvoted. I am not qualified to read the paper but I have the same question. My impression was that "long covid" was self reported and there is no way to medically confirm if someone is actually has "long covid"
That’s like saying there’s no way to medically confirm that someone has a sore throat. Of course we may wish to determine the underlying cause of the sore throat, but even if we can’t that doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t have a sore throat.
We don’t yet know the underlying cause of long covid symptoms, which is what research like this is trying to uncover.
You can say that one has sore throat, or fever, or fatigue, or headache.
But if you say one has long COVID, you are describing a condition (possibly a new illness, but not yet?) with a wide range of symptoms that occur in different combinations in different people, it seems fine to ask for clarification about what sets it apart other than having gone through acute COVID (natural question, as a person who has gone through acute COVID can still subsequently fall ill with an illness unrelated to COVID).
It is sufficiently vague that I have the same question each time I see the term. Maybe this subthread-starter was sincere?
Oh, interesting. I hadn't actually encountered that definition of acute. Looked it up. Seems like medical dictionaries lean towards defining acute as an opposite to chronic, while non-medical dictionaries include that and other definitions like "extremely sharp or severe; intense" - which is how I took it. Good to know, for talking to doctors.
How can you medically confirm someone has depression, chronic pain, or anxiety? You can't with diagnostic tests but you can observe their behavior and ask them.
"Long Covid" is extremely similar to other post viral illnesses that have been observed for decades, just getting more attention now.
I can say my left toe is hurting from long covid and no one can deny that. But if you say my left toe is hurting from depression that won't be taken seriously.
