Research has shown that COVID-19 infection can have long-term complications for the lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, and other organ systems. New findings now suggest that the virus can speed the aging process in several organs by three to four years. Here is what studies have revealed so far.*

Older from COVID?

We “can start thinking about getting COVID as almost an accelerant to aging,” says Ziyad Al-Aly, M.D., FASN, who directs the Clinical Epidemiology Center at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Al-Aly arrived at this conclusion after more than two and a half years of health data research involving millions of people who were infected with the coronavirus. During that time, his team observed a considerable change in people’s organs just a year after infection.

• Roughly 3%-4% of kidney function was gone one year after infection, equal to three to four years of aging.
• Most individuals were hospitalized, but some had experienced mild COVID symptoms.

Possible causes

Michael Peluso, M.D. concurs with Al-Aly’s findings. Peluso is an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco whose research team was one of the first to examine Long COVID in 2020. He says Al-Aly has been instrumental in helping to explain what people experience after COVID-19, especially COVID’s effects on organ systems.

Peluso’s own team has been helping to figure out the biological workings underlying these long-term effects. They have been investigating several theories concerning the causes of post-COVID organ aging and Long COVID symptoms, including:

• Lingering virus
• Inflammation
• Autoimmune issues
• Changes in the microbiome (healthy bacteria)

Supportive research

Al-Aly’s current study results build on his previous Long COVID research. Here are some of his discoveries.

• Post-COVID kidney research showed significant kidney dysfunction in over 89,000 30-day survivors. The risk of dysfunction increased with COVID severity. 
• Post-COVID neurologic research showed extensive complications in over 150,000 individuals after one year, such as stroke, cognitive and memory issues, migraines, seizures, mental health disorders, and sensory problems, even with milder COVID. 
• Post-COVID heart research showed an increased risk of cardiovascular complications after 30 days, including the risk of cerebrovascular disorders, pericarditis, myocarditis, and heart disease. Risk of these complications also increased with COVID illness severity. 

Reason for hope

Despite the dire findings, Al-Aly believes that there are reasons to hope. Though more research is needed, he says, “My hunch from the data…is that this would really eventually flatten out, and there are some early indications…that the risk or the kidney function decline really flattens out with time.”

*Pena, L. (2022, October 18). If you had COVID, several of your organs could be aging 3-4 years faster: Study [Video file]. ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved from https://abc7chicago.com/covid-long-haul-study-aging-faster-after-organs-kidney/12340213