🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa158)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html","crawl_time":1771322347,"first_indexed_time":1741598564,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Covid’s Long-Term Effects on the Lungs, Gut, Brain and More - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["Five years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Credit...\nIbrahim Rayintakath\nFive years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes.\nCredit...\nIbrahim Rayintakath\nPublished March 10, 2025\nUpdated March 12, 2025\nFive years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass.\nSome of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body.\nSome of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates,\n400 million people worldwide\nhave been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health.\nWe now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.\nHere’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects.\nThe Lungs\nImage\nCovid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe.\nSmall\nstudies\nhave suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later.\nThe cause:\nThe virus invades\ncells along the airways\n, causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.\nAs the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath.\nThe Gut\nImage\nCovid can cause\nshort-term symptoms\nlike nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.\nBut in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a\n2024 study\n, researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later.\nThe cause:\nScientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that\nthe virus can disrupt the gut microbiome\n, reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it.\nInflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances.\nHow we choose health experts to talk to.\n \nTimes reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints.\nInflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation.\nThe Brain\nImage\nAt the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory.\nThese symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly\n20\nto\n30 percent\nof people infected with Covid experienced\nbrain fog\nat least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or\nexacerbate existing mental health issues\n.\nThe cause:\nScientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues.\nAnother theory is that the virus disrupts the\nblood-brain barrier,\nwhich protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function.\nFragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection.\nThe Heart\nImage\nA Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia.\nOne large study\nfound that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years.\nThe cause:\nWhen you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack.\nBut more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia.\nPeople who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots.\nThe Circulatory System\nImage\nStudies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise.\nThe cause:\nIt’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.\nIn some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue.\nDani Blum\nis a health reporter for The Times.\nAlice Callahan\nis a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis.\nA version of this article appears in print on\nMarch 11, 2025\n, Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects\n.\nOrder Reprints\n|\nToday’s Paper\n|\nSubscribe\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[Well](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/well)\\|A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects on the Body\n\nhttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html\n\n- Share full article\n- 1\\.3k\n\n![An illustration of various viral molecules floating around a centered, square silhouette of a head in profile. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/11\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCredit...Ibrahim Rayintakath\n\n[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n# A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects on the Body\nFive years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes.\n\nCredit...Ibrahim Rayintakath\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#after-sponsor)\n\n- Share full article\n- 1\\.3k\n\nBy [Dani Blum](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/dani-blum)[Nina Agrawal](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/nina-agrawal) and [Alice Callahan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/alice-callahan)\n\n- Published March 10, 2025Updated March 12, 2025\n\n[Leer en español](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/2025\/03\/10\/espanol\/covid-secuelas-largo-plazo.html \"Read in Spanish\")\n\nFive years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass.\n\nSome of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body.\n\nSome of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates, [400 million people worldwide](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/09\/health\/long-covid-world.html) have been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health.\n\nWe now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.\n\nHere’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects.\n\n## The Lungs\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a pair of healthy lungs with overlaid segments showing internal, abstracted inflammation. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCovid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe. [Small](https:\/\/pubs.rsna.org\/doi\/10.1148\/radiol.222888) [studies](https:\/\/www.atsjournals.org\/doi\/full\/10.1164\/rccm.202203-0564OC) have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later.\n\n## More on the Virus\n- **Is It Cold, Flu or Covid?:** With similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell which illness is which. [Here’s what to know](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/25\/well\/cold-flu-covid-symptoms.html).\n- **Heart Problems:** One study found that a Covid infection [doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/22\/well\/covid-heart-health.html). And the risk of a heart attack [triples within the first few weeks](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/29\/well\/viral-infections-covid-flu-heart-attacks.html) after an infection, another suggested.\n- **Long Covid in Children:** People under 21 [are](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/30\/health\/long-covid-children.html) [twice as likely to develop long-term health consequences](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/30\/health\/long-covid-children.html) after a second coronavirus infection, a large study found.\n- **Covid Shots****:** The F.D.A. [approved updated Covid vaccines](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/27\/health\/fda-covid-vaccines-rfk-jr.html) and limited who can get the shots. Children [under 12 need different versions of the vaccines](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/07\/well\/covid-vaccine-children-parents-issues-rfk-jr.html), but many pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices aren’t stocking them. [Here's what to know](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/27\/well\/covid-vaccines-guidelines-fall-2025.html).\n- **Gut Issues:** Why does Covid cause [diarrhea, constipation, pain and bloating? Here are some suggestions for](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/12\/well\/eat\/covid-symptoms-diarrhea-constipation-pain-bloating.html) what to do about these conditions.\n\n**The cause:** The virus invades [cells along the airways](https:\/\/www.nhlbi.nih.gov\/covid\/lungs), causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.\n\nAs the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath.\n\n## The Gut\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a digestive system with a split screen view. One side shows healthy, normal functioning, while the other shows the gut inflamed and the microbiome affected. Various viral molecules hover around. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCovid can cause [short-term symptoms](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/05\/well\/covid-symptoms-stomach-pain-diarrhea.html) like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.\n\nBut in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a [2024 study](https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/eclinm\/article\/PIIS2589-5370\\(24\\)00482-6\/fulltext), researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later.\n\n**The cause:** Scientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that [the virus can disrupt the gut microbiome](https:\/\/bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12866-022-02686-9), reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it.\n\nInflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances.\n\nHow we choose health experts to talk to. Times reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints.\n\n[Here’s more on our process.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/16\/well\/how-health-reporters-choose-experts.html)\n\nInflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation.\n\n## The Brain\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a human brain with overlaid squares that reveal internal inflammation and abstracted renderings of synapses. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nAt the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory.\n\nThese symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly [20](https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34973396\/) to [30 percent](https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35121209\/) of people infected with Covid experienced [brain fog](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/13\/well\/mind\/brain-fog-treatment.html) at least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or [exacerbate existing mental health issues](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/21\/well\/covid-mental-health-anxiety-depression.html).\n\n**The cause:** Scientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues.\n\nAnother theory is that the virus disrupts the [blood-brain barrier,](https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41593-024-01576-9) which protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function.\n\nFragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection.\n\n## The Heart\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a human heart surrounded by graphic shapes displaying abstracted biological processes. An overlaid square reveals inflammation in the heart with viral molecules hovering behind. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia. [One large study](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/22\/well\/covid-heart-health.html) found that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years.\n\n**The cause:** When you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack.\n\nBut more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia.\n\nPeople who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots.\n\n## The Circulatory System\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a circulatory system within a human silhouette. Graphic shapes are overlaid on the silhouette to reveal abstracted biological processes. One of the shapes shows disrupted circulation with viral molecules hovering around. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nStudies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise.\n\n**The cause:** It’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.\n\nIn some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue.\n\n[Dani Blum](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/dani-blum) is a health reporter for The Times.\n\n[Nina Agrawal](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/nina-agrawal) is a Times health reporter.\n\n[Alice Callahan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/alice-callahan) is a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2025, Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\nRead 1,279 comments\n\n- Share full article\n- 1\\.3k\n## Related Content\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#after-bottom)\n## Site Index\n## Site Information Navigation\n- [© 2026 The New York Times Company](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014792127-Copyright-Notice)\n\n- [NYTCo](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-The-New-York-Times)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015727108-Accessibility)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/careers\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/)\n- [T Brand Studio](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/custom-content\/)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/10940941449492-The-New-York-Times-Company-Privacy-Policy)\n- [Cookie Policy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/cookie-policy)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893428-Terms-of-Service)\n- [Terms of Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-Sale)\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Canada](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ca\/)\n- [International](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/international\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)","attrs_readable_markdown":"![An illustration of various viral molecules floating around a centered, square silhouette of a head in profile. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/11\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCredit...Ibrahim Rayintakath\n\nFive years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes.\n\nCredit...Ibrahim Rayintakath\n\n- Published March 10, 2025Updated March 12, 2025\n\nFive years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass.\n\nSome of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body.\n\nSome of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates, [400 million people worldwide](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/09\/health\/long-covid-world.html) have been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health.\n\nWe now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.\n\nHere’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects.\n\n## The Lungs\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a pair of healthy lungs with overlaid segments showing internal, abstracted inflammation. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCovid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe. [Small](https:\/\/pubs.rsna.org\/doi\/10.1148\/radiol.222888) [studies](https:\/\/www.atsjournals.org\/doi\/full\/10.1164\/rccm.202203-0564OC) have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later.\n\n**The cause:** The virus invades [cells along the airways](https:\/\/www.nhlbi.nih.gov\/covid\/lungs), causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.\n\nAs the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath.\n\n## The Gut\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a digestive system with a split screen view. One side shows healthy, normal functioning, while the other shows the gut inflamed and the microbiome affected. Various viral molecules hover around. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCovid can cause [short-term symptoms](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/05\/well\/covid-symptoms-stomach-pain-diarrhea.html) like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.\n\nBut in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a [2024 study](https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/eclinm\/article\/PIIS2589-5370\\(24\\)00482-6\/fulltext), researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later.\n\n**The cause:** Scientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that [the virus can disrupt the gut microbiome](https:\/\/bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12866-022-02686-9), reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it.\n\nInflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances.\n\nHow we choose health experts to talk to. Times reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints.\n\nInflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation.\n\n## The Brain\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a human brain with overlaid squares that reveal internal inflammation and abstracted renderings of synapses. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nAt the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory.\n\nThese symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly [20](https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/34973396\/) to [30 percent](https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35121209\/) of people infected with Covid experienced [brain fog](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/13\/well\/mind\/brain-fog-treatment.html) at least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or [exacerbate existing mental health issues](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/21\/well\/covid-mental-health-anxiety-depression.html).\n\n**The cause:** Scientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues.\n\nAnother theory is that the virus disrupts the [blood-brain barrier,](https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41593-024-01576-9) which protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function.\n\nFragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection.\n\n## The Heart\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a human heart surrounded by graphic shapes displaying abstracted biological processes. An overlaid square reveals inflammation in the heart with viral molecules hovering behind. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia. [One large study](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/22\/well\/covid-heart-health.html) found that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years.\n\n**The cause:** When you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack.\n\nBut more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia.\n\nPeople who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots.\n\n## The Circulatory System\n\nImage\n\n![An illustration of a circulatory system within a human silhouette. Graphic shapes are overlaid on the silhouette to reveal abstracted biological processes. One of the shapes shows disrupted circulation with viral molecules hovering around. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/10\/well\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ\/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nStudies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise.\n\n**The cause:** It’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.\n\nIn some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue.\n\n[Dani Blum](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/dani-blum) is a health reporter for The Times.\n\n[Alice Callahan](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/alice-callahan) is a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2025, Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects. 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Meta Title	Covid’s Long-Term Effects on the Lungs, Gut, Brain and More - The New York Times
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Boilerpipe Text	Credit... Ibrahim Rayintakath Five years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes. Credit... Ibrahim Rayintakath Published March 10, 2025 Updated March 12, 2025 Five years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass. Some of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body. Some of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates, 400 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health. We now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Here’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects. The Lungs Image Covid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe. Small studies have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later. The cause: The virus invades cells along the airways , causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. As the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath. The Gut Image Covid can cause short-term symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. But in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a 2024 study , researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later. The cause: Scientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that the virus can disrupt the gut microbiome , reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it. Inflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances. How we choose health experts to talk to. Times reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints. Inflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation. The Brain Image At the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory. These symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly 20 to 30 percent of people infected with Covid experienced brain fog at least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or exacerbate existing mental health issues . The cause: Scientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues. Another theory is that the virus disrupts the blood-brain barrier, which protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function. Fragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection. The Heart Image A Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia. One large study found that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years. The cause: When you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack. But more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia. People who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots. The Circulatory System Image Studies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise. The cause: It’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue. Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times. Alice Callahan is a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis. A version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2025 , Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects . Order Reprints \| Today’s Paper \| Subscribe Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Markdown	[Well](https://www.nytimes.com/section/well)\\|A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects on the Body https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html - Share full article - 1\.3k ![An illustration of various viral molecules floating around a centered, square silhouette of a head in profile. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/11/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Credit...Ibrahim Rayintakath [Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation # A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects on the Body Five years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes. Credit...Ibrahim Rayintakath Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/well/covid-long-term-health-damage.html#after-sponsor) - Share full article - 1\.3k By [Dani Blum](https://www.nytimes.com/by/dani-blum)[Nina Agrawal](https://www.nytimes.com/by/nina-agrawal) and [Alice Callahan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/alice-callahan) - Published March 10, 2025Updated March 12, 2025 [Leer en español](https://www.nytimes.com/es/2025/03/10/espanol/covid-secuelas-largo-plazo.html "Read in Spanish") Five years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass. Some of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body. Some of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates, [400 million people worldwide](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/health/long-covid-world.html) have been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health. We now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Here’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects. ## The Lungs Image ![An illustration of a pair of healthy lungs with overlaid segments showing internal, abstracted inflammation. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Covid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe. [Small](https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.222888) [studies](https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.202203-0564OC) have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later. ## More on the Virus - Is It Cold, Flu or Covid?: With similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell which illness is which. [Here’s what to know](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/well/cold-flu-covid-symptoms.html). - Heart Problems: One study found that a Covid infection [doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/well/covid-heart-health.html). And the risk of a heart attack [triples within the first few weeks](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/well/viral-infections-covid-flu-heart-attacks.html) after an infection, another suggested. - Long Covid in Children: People under 21 [are](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/health/long-covid-children.html) [twice as likely to develop long-term health consequences](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/health/long-covid-children.html) after a second coronavirus infection, a large study found. - Covid Shots: The F.D.A. [approved updated Covid vaccines](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/health/fda-covid-vaccines-rfk-jr.html) and limited who can get the shots. Children [under 12 need different versions of the vaccines](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/well/covid-vaccine-children-parents-issues-rfk-jr.html), but many pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices aren’t stocking them. [Here's what to know](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/well/covid-vaccines-guidelines-fall-2025.html). - Gut Issues: Why does Covid cause [diarrhea, constipation, pain and bloating? Here are some suggestions for](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/well/eat/covid-symptoms-diarrhea-constipation-pain-bloating.html) what to do about these conditions. The cause: The virus invades [cells along the airways](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/covid/lungs), causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. As the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath. ## The Gut Image ![An illustration of a digestive system with a split screen view. One side shows healthy, normal functioning, while the other shows the gut inflamed and the microbiome affected. Various viral molecules hover around. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Covid can cause [short-term symptoms](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/05/well/covid-symptoms-stomach-pain-diarrhea.html) like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. But in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a [2024 study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370\(24\)00482-6/fulltext), researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later. The cause: Scientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that [the virus can disrupt the gut microbiome](https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-022-02686-9), reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it. Inflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances. How we choose health experts to talk to. Times reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints. [Here’s more on our process.](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/well/how-health-reporters-choose-experts.html) Inflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation. ## The Brain Image ![An illustration of a human brain with overlaid squares that reveal internal inflammation and abstracted renderings of synapses. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) At the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory. These symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly [20](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34973396/) to [30 percent](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35121209/) of people infected with Covid experienced [brain fog](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/well/mind/brain-fog-treatment.html) at least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or [exacerbate existing mental health issues](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/well/covid-mental-health-anxiety-depression.html). The cause: Scientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues. Another theory is that the virus disrupts the [blood-brain barrier,](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01576-9) which protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function. Fragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection. ## The Heart Image ![An illustration of a human heart surrounded by graphic shapes displaying abstracted biological processes. An overlaid square reveals inflammation in the heart with viral molecules hovering behind. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia. [One large study](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/well/covid-heart-health.html) found that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years. The cause: When you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack. But more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia. People who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots. ## The Circulatory System Image ![An illustration of a circulatory system within a human silhouette. Graphic shapes are overlaid on the silhouette to reveal abstracted biological processes. One of the shapes shows disrupted circulation with viral molecules hovering around. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Studies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise. The cause: It’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue. [Dani Blum](https://www.nytimes.com/by/dani-blum) is a health reporter for The Times. [Nina Agrawal](https://www.nytimes.com/by/nina-agrawal) is a Times health reporter. [Alice Callahan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/alice-callahan) is a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis. A version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2025, Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects. 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Readable Markdown	![An illustration of various viral molecules floating around a centered, square silhouette of a head in profile. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/11/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Opener-articleLarge-v2.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Credit...Ibrahim Rayintakath Five years on, scientists are starting to understand how the virus can lead to long-term, sometimes invisible changes. Credit...Ibrahim Rayintakath - Published March 10, 2025Updated March 12, 2025 Five years — and hundreds of millions of cases — after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists are getting a clearer picture of how the virus can affect the body long after an infection seems to pass. Some of Covid’s effects became apparent soon after the virus began spreading. We quickly understood how deadly an infection could be, especially for those with underlying conditions like diabetes and heart disease. But it has taken years of research to start making sense of how a bout of Covid can lead to lasting, sometimes invisible changes in different parts of the body. Some of these effects, such as chronic fatigue and brain fog, are considered long Covid, defined as symptoms from an infection that persist for at least three months. By some estimates, [400 million people worldwide](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/health/long-covid-world.html) have been diagnosed with some form of long Covid. But an infection can also lead to other issues, including lung and heart damage and microbiome changes in the gut, that may not always be recognized as long Covid but can still have a lasting effect on our health. We now have a better sense of what might be behind those changes, including the role of the widespread inflammation that Covid can cause. For most people, inflammation will subside once the virus clears. But for some, if it “rages” too intensely or persists as a “slow burn” for too long, it can wreak havoc around the body, said Dr. Braden Kuo, a neurogastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Here’s what scientists have learned so far about inflammation and the other factors driving these effects. ## The Lungs Image ![An illustration of a pair of healthy lungs with overlaid segments showing internal, abstracted inflammation. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Lungs-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Covid irritates the lungs and can cause long-term issues, like persistent shortness of breath and coughing. In rare cases, Covid can lead patients to develop pneumonia and leave scarring and small masses of tissue, called nodules, throughout the lungs. Those scars can make it harder to breathe. [Small](https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.222888) [studies](https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.202203-0564OC) have suggested that over 10 percent of people hospitalized with a Covid infection had lung scarring and other issues two years later. The cause: The virus invades [cells along the airways](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/covid/lungs), causing inflammation that can attack and sometimes destroy healthy lung tissue. This can impair the lungs’ ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a senior clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. As the lungs try to recover and repair, they form scars. But scar tissue itself can stiffen the lungs and reduce lung capacity, leading to lasting symptoms such as a cough and shortness of breath. ## The Gut Image ![An illustration of a digestive system with a split screen view. One side shows healthy, normal functioning, while the other shows the gut inflamed and the microbiome affected. Various viral molecules hover around. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Gut-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Covid can cause [short-term symptoms](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/05/well/covid-symptoms-stomach-pain-diarrhea.html) like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. But in some people, Covid can lead to chronic gastrointestinal problems, like reflux, constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain. These issues can last for months or even years. In a [2024 study](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370\(24\)00482-6/fulltext), researchers estimated that bouts with Covid had left as many as 10 percent of people with lasting abdominal pain and 13 percent with gastrointestinal issues a year later. The cause: Scientists don’t know why, exactly, Covid can throw off normal gut function so much — but they’re getting a better understanding of what might be at play. For example, it’s now clear that [the virus can disrupt the gut microbiome](https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-022-02686-9), reducing beneficial microbes and increasing the numbers of harmful ones. “Good” microbes can help tamp down inflammation while “bad” ones can increase it. Inflammation from the infection itself, as well as from the altered gut microbes, might harm the lining of the intestine. This can allow toxins and the broken-down components of food to escape from the gut into other tissues of the body. Immune cells might then mount an allergy-like response to certain foods, leading to food intolerances. How we choose health experts to talk to. Times reporters often spend weeks interviewing doctors, researchers and other health professionals to help report an article. We seek leaders in their fields, watch out for conflicts of interest and try to get a variety of viewpoints. Inflammation may also “chew away” at the nerves that signal pain in the gut or that control the intestinal contractions that keep food moving along, Dr. Kuo said. This can cause stomach or intestinal pain or make food move too fast or too slow through the digestive tract, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea or constipation. ## The Brain Image ![An illustration of a human brain with overlaid squares that reveal internal inflammation and abstracted renderings of synapses. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Brain-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) At the height of an infection, patients often develop headaches and can feel dizzy and confused. They sometimes struggle to find the right words, have difficulty concentrating or following a conversation or find they have gaps in their memory. These symptoms can linger: Studies have found that roughly [20](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34973396/) to [30 percent](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35121209/) of people infected with Covid experienced [brain fog](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/well/mind/brain-fog-treatment.html) at least three months after an initial infection. Research also shows that Covid can lead to conditions like anxiety or depression, or [exacerbate existing mental health issues](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/well/covid-mental-health-anxiety-depression.html). The cause: Scientists are still working to identify all the factors that contribute to lasting neurological issues after Covid. But one culprit seems clear: persistent inflammation, which damages neurons and inhibits the creation of key connections between synapses. All of this may cause symptoms like those described above. Some researchers also think that areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotion are particularly vulnerable to inflammation, which helps explain why an infection can induce or worsen mental health issues. Another theory is that the virus disrupts the [blood-brain barrier,](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01576-9) which protects brain tissue and is vital for cognitive function. Fragments of the virus may also linger in the brain long-term, which could explain why some cognitive symptoms last beyond the initial infection. ## The Heart Image ![An illustration of a human heart surrounded by graphic shapes displaying abstracted biological processes. An overlaid square reveals inflammation in the heart with viral molecules hovering behind. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Heart-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems, including heart attacks, strokes, damage to the heart muscle and an irregular heart beat, known as an arrhythmia. [One large study](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/well/covid-heart-health.html) found that having Covid doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years. The cause: When you have an acute Covid infection, the stresses of fever and inflammation can place excess demand on the heart. In someone who already has plaque buildup in the arteries or heart muscle that’s started to become stiff, that demand can lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart attack. But more common, scientists think, is that the virus provokes inflammation that injures the heart muscle. The virus may also damage the cells lining the blood vessels, leading to inflammation there. This could cause a new clot to form or make existing plaque break off and clog a blood vessel. That type of blockage can cause sudden death from a heart attack or lead to downstream damage to heart muscles and other tissue, which can result in heart failure or an arrhythmia. People who have been hospitalized for Covid have the highest short- and long-term risk of heart complications. Some research suggests that people with a non-O blood type — A, B or AB — have a particularly increased risk, perhaps because blood type may be linked to how the blood clots. ## The Circulatory System Image ![An illustration of a circulatory system within a human silhouette. Graphic shapes are overlaid on the silhouette to reveal abstracted biological processes. One of the shapes shows disrupted circulation with viral molecules hovering around. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/03/10/well/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ/10WELL-COVID-BODY-Circ-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Studies of patients with long Covid show that their bodies have trouble moving blood out of the legs and abdomen and back up to the heart. That can reduce the amount of blood the heart pumps out, causing fatigue, shortness of breath and a feeling of being unwell after exercise. The cause: It’s not clear why these circulatory problems happen, but scientists hypothesize that in some patients, inflammation harms certain nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord that regulate the squeezing ability of blood vessels. This could result in impaired blood flow, said Dr. David Systrom, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In some patients with long Covid, it also appears that the muscles are less able to extract oxygen from the blood than normal, hampering their ability to keep up with exercise, Dr. Systrom said. In addition, the mitochondria — the energy-producing powerhouses of cells — may not work properly or at full capacity, delivering another hit to muscle tissue. [Dani Blum](https://www.nytimes.com/by/dani-blum) is a health reporter for The Times. [Alice Callahan](https://www.nytimes.com/by/alice-callahan) is a Times reporter covering nutrition and health. She has a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of California, Davis. A version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2025, Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: A Clearer Picture of Covid’s Lasting Effects. 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