Health
Lingering lung disorders 5 years post-COVID: Here's what to know
The COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the U.S. five years ago this month, leaving not only lingering mental health effects but also long-term physical symptoms.
One of those included a condition known as post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis, which involves scarring of the lungs that can worsen over time and may require a lung transplant, according to pulmonologists.
Early infection caused extensive inflammation in many different body systems, noted Dr. Scott Scheinin, MD, director of lung transplantation for Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
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“Once they cleared that infection, a lot of people were left with some amount of lung tissue being destroyed,” Scheinin told Fox News Digital during an interview.
Post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis involves scarring of the lungs that can worsen over time and may require a lung transplant. (iStock)
Scheinin provided medical care on the frontlines in New York City in the first wave of the pandemic.
“The early COVID experience in New York was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. It was just horrible,” he recalled.
One patient’s story
One of Scheinin’s patients was a pastor in his mid-50s who was infected with COVID-19 in March 2020.
Pastor Benjamin Thomas of East Meadow, Long Island, spent nearly 100 days in the hospital — 54 of which were on a ventilator — and six weeks in a medically induced coma.
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He was discharged in July 2020 with an oxygen tank. Despite overcoming the initial infection, Thomas’ condition deteriorated.
In 2022, the pastor noticed that his daily activity tolerance diminished dramatically and he required more oxygen for simple tasks.
The inflammatory response sparked by early mutations of the novel coronavirus led to scarring of lungs in many individuals. (iStock)
“I couldn’t take a shower for more than 30 seconds without being on oxygen,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Scheinin said the pastor had no underlying conditions before contracting COVID. A lung biopsy showed that Thomas’ symptoms were consistent with post-inflammatory pulmonary fibrosis due to the COVID-19 infection.
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Thomas’ story was remarkable in that he survived the first bout with COVID, but two years later, his lungs had deteriorated so badly from the scarring that he needed a double lung transplant, Scheinin shared.
After spending seven months on the wait list, Thomas opted to settle for one lung since that would be faster than waiting for two. His surgery was performed on Feb. 28, 2023.
“The flu and any other illness would be exacerbated because of the underlying scarring of the lung.”
Now, two years after his lung transplant, Thomas says he no longer needs oxygen supplementation and is back to performing his daily pastoral activities at his church in Queens Village, New York, albeit at a slower pace than before.
The pastor has returned to long-distance driving and can now walk for about 30 minutes. He attributes his successful recovery to the efforts of his Mount Sinai medical team, his faith and prayers from his congregation.
What is post-COVID fibrosis?
A healthy lung allows for the normal exchange of gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, when one breathes air, Scheinin told Fox News Digital.
The inflammatory response sparked by early mutations of the novel coronavirus led to scarring of lungs in many individuals.
Testing for this condition is relatively non-invasive, typically including a cat scan or X-ray to check for structural lung damage, as well as blood tests and a pulmonary function test. (iStock)
In certain cases, the doctor said, the lungs no longer function as well as they did before the infection.
“The normal gas exchange is impeded because now you have areas of the lung tissue that are scarred, and therefore they’re not functioning normally,” he said.
“If it’s a small area, it may be insignificant and unnoticeable, but as more of the lung tissue becomes scarred, more of the normal lung function is destroyed, [and] the patient becomes short of breath.”
This could lead to future issues, especially if the patient is exposed to other respiratory ailments.
“The flu and any other illness would be exacerbated because of the underlying scarring of the lung,” Scheinin said. “I think it just makes the lungs more susceptible to injury.”
Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
Symptoms of post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis can mimic other types of interstitial lung diseases, which are disorders that cause progressive scarring and inflammation of lung tissue.
If a person who previously had a COVID infection continues to experience shortness of breath, chronic cough and change in their exercise tolerance — or if they smoke or have an underlying condition such as emphysema — they should see their physician or a pulmonologist, according to Scheinin.
Risk factors for post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis typically include an underlying chronic condition, older age, and the use of mechanical ventilation during the acute phase of COVID. (iStock)
Testing for this condition is relatively non-invasive, typically including a cat scan or X-ray to check for structural lung damage, as well as blood tests and a pulmonary function test, the doctor told Fox News Digital.
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Not everyone infected with COVID will develop pulmonary fibrosis, and the condition can vary in severity and recovery, the lung specialist noted.
In some cases, a person may have been susceptible to developing lung fibrosis due to an underlying condition and the COVID-19 infection may accelerate the fibrotic progression.
It is important to get checked out by a medical professional if you have symptoms, a lung specialist said, especially shortness of breath. (iStock)
It is important to get checked out by a medical professional if you have symptoms, Scheinin said, especially shortness of breath.
Risk factors for post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis typically include an underlying chronic condition, older age, and the use of mechanical ventilation during the acute phase of COVID, according to previous studies.
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Researchers are investigating the use of antifibrotic medications to treat the condition, along with steroids and other anti-inflammatories that are currently used to treat other lung diseases.
Besides medications, treatment may also include pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise training and behavioral modifications, according to lung specialists.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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