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Long colds often go undiagnosed due to the wide range of symptoms and lack of diagnostic tests and can linger for more than four weeks after the initial infection, according to the study from Queen Mary University of London published in The Lancet on Friday, Oct. 6.
Long COVID is estimated to affect at least 10 percent of people infected with COVID-19, with far higher incidence among those hospitalized.
"While long COVID has been well documented in previously hospitalized patients, and risk of long COVID has been found to be associated with severe COVID, an increasing number of studies have found long-term sequelae in people with mild or asymptomatic infections," the study said.
Long COVID symptoms such as dizziness and loss of smell and taste were less common in those with long colds compared to long COVID, according to the study, which surveyed a total of around 10,000 people in the United Kingdom.
Other frequently reported symptoms of long COVID include cognitive dysfunction or "brain fog," as well as fatigue, and breathing difficulties.
The World Health Organization defines long COVID as having new or lingering COVID symptoms three months or after the initial infection with symptoms lasting for at least another two months with no other explanation.
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