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A corona infection can have far-reaching consequences for your organs. “The infection speeds up the aging process,” said Ziyad Al-Aly of the Clinical Epidemiology Center, which studied the data of millions of Americans.
The aging effects of organs such as the kidneys, brain and heart are strongest in people who have been hospitalized with Covid-19. But also people with a mild disease course can have frightening effects.
In a year, the organs age as quickly as they normally would in three or four years, Al-Aly says. “We see that the kidney function of people decreases by 3 to 4 percent in the year after an infection. Normally, such a decrease takes 3 to 4 years.”
Infectious disease specialist Michael Peluso is not surprised by the results of Al-Aly’s research. He suspects that the accelerated aging is caused by residual virus, he told ABC 7 Chicago. This causes inflammation, autoimmune problems and changes in the intestinal flora.
Al-Aly suspects that accelerated aging will stop at some point. Further research will have to show whether this is actually the case.