Adults of all ages who are hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may continue to experience health problems months after discharge, according to a new study led by the University of Michigan. The research, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that both younger and older adults often face lingering symptoms such as breathlessness and difficulty performing daily activities for up to a year following hospitalization.
Aleda Leis, a research assistant professor in epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and lead author of the study, explained: “Overall, we found that many patients hospitalized with RSV had poor physical functioning, functional impairment and persistent symptoms including shortness of breath six to 12 months after their hospitalization—regardless of age.”
Leis noted that one unexpected finding was the number of patients under 60 who required hospitalization for RSV. “RSV is generally thought to cause severe illness primarily in very young children and older adults, but our study shows that younger adults can also experience serious RSV infections requiring hospitalization,” she said.
The study did not find significant differences in long-term outcomes between those younger than 60 and those 60 or older. However, older adults were more likely to lose at least one independent activity of daily living compared to before their illness. In contrast, younger adults reported more significant sleep disturbances. Leis added: “We’re hoping to dig more into the causes of some of these effects in future research.”
Discussing the motivation behind studying long-term outcomes in adults hospitalized with RSV, Leis said: “The COVID-19 pandemic really brought the possibility of long-term outcomes following viral illness into the spotlight. While long COVID has received significant attention, lasting effects can happen after illness with other acute respiratory viruses, including RSV.” She emphasized the importance of understanding these risks so clinicians can identify which patients may need additional follow-up care and inform prevention efforts such as vaccination.
Leis highlighted how this research differs from previous work: “First, while most studies have focused on adults over 60 years of age, our study includes those 18 years and older hospitalized with RSV. Additionally, our follow-up period is longer than that of most other studies, including outcomes six to 12 months after their acute illness. We also offered surveys in both English and Spanish, and our participants came from a large nationwide cohort of adults with severe acute respiratory infection. Combined, these strengths allowed us to gain a more generalizable understanding of longer-term outcomes after severe RSV in adults.”
When comparing long-term effects from RSV hospitalizations with those from COVID-19 hospitalizations, Leis stated: “We found that those hospitalized with RSV reported similar outcomes to those hospitalized with COVID-19. In both situations, there was moderately low physical functioning and quality of life. The notable exception is dyspnea, or shortness of breath. Those with RSV had almost two times higher odds of more severe dyspnea six to 12 months after their hospitalization than those with COVID-19.”
Leis concluded: “We hope the takeaway from our study is that long-term effects can happen after respiratory illnesses other than COVID-19, too. For those with RSV, these long-term effects appeared similar to those after COVID-19, and younger adults with RSV had similar long-term outcomes to older adults. We hope that this study can help provide more information about the risks of RSV in adults beyond the acute infection phase and the potential benefits of RSV prevention such as vaccination.”
