A new study found that adults who reported having COVID-19 at least twice were significantly more likely to be diagnosed as having a new medical condition than those who reported having never been infected. CIDRAP has the news.

Researchers in Canada analyzed data collected from April 2022 to June 2023 from almost 9,000 respondents to a COVID follow-up survey. They reported how many confirmed or suspected COVID infections they had and whether they had been diagnosed as having any of 21 conditions after their first COVID infection.

47% of participants reported having one COVID infection, and approximately 20% reported two or more infections. 11% reported developing a new medical condition during the study period. Those reporting two or more infections had 76% higher odds of receiving a new diagnosis than those reporting no infections.

Repeat infections were associated with five times the odds of a respiratory diagnosis and nearly four times the odds of developing back problems. Those who experienced acute symptoms that interfered with daily activities during a first infection were 63% more likely to receive a new diagnosis.

These results cannot establish that the infections caused the new diagnoses, and the researchers also noted that all the health information was self-reported, which allows for the possibility of misremembered symptom severity. The findings, however, “reinforce the continued importance of public health efforts to prevent infection.”