RSV Can Have Lasting Effects on Adults, Study Finds

Credit: Adobe Stock/Art_Photo

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a condition responsible for approximately 100,000 to 150,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. annually among people 60 years or older, can cause lasting physical and functional challenges well after discharge. These patients are often admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and even heart failure.

A study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases looked at what happens months after adults are hospitalized with RSV, focusing on how people feel and function long after they leave the hospital. The findings demonstrated that many adults hospitalized with RSV report breathing problems and reduced quality of life months later.

“The COVID-19 pandemic really brought the possibility of long-term outcomes following viral illness into the spotlight,” said lead investigator Aleda Leis, Ph.D,, M.S., a research assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at University of Michigan School of Public Health. “While ‘long COVID’ has received significant attention, lasting effects can happen after illness with other acute respiratory viruses, including RSV.”

Leis and her team surveyed adults enrolled in the Surveillance of Respiratory Infections’ Sequelae (SunRISE) program who had been hospitalized for RSV or COVID-19 between February 2022 and September 2023. Participants completed surveys six to 12 months after hospitalization, answering questions about breathing, physical functioning and overall quality of life. The investigators also compared outcomes between younger adults (under 60) and older adults (over 60).

Among adults hospitalized with RSV, the long-term effects were common and significant. More than one in four reported severe shortness of breath (27.4%), and about one in five said they had a poor quality of life many months after leaving the hospital. Interestingly, these long-term problems were seen regardless of age, meaning younger adults were affected nearly as often as older adults.

“One of our most surprising findings was that many patients hospitalized with RSV were younger than 60 years old,” noted Leis. “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.”

When investigators compared RSV survivors with people who had been hospitalized for COVID-19, they found that adults who had RSV were actually more likely to report ongoing breathing problems. After adjusting for other factors, patients with RSV had nearly twice the odds of worse breathlessness compared with COVID-19 survivors. Patients with RSV were also more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (24.7% vs 12.7%, respectively) and experienced more severe in-hospital outcomes (36.3% vs 17.0%, respectively).

Investigators noted the study’s strength is that it followed a large, diverse group of adults from a nationwide public health network, making the findings more applicable to people hospitalized with severe RSV. They used well-established surveys in both English and Spanish, allowing for reliable symptom tracking and comparisons with other respiratory illness studies.

However, because only people who survived hospitalization were included, the long-term effects may be underestimated, and underlying health conditions could influence some results. The study also could not fully examine factors like vaccination or other risks for long-term symptoms.

“We hope the takeaway from our study is that long-term effects can happen after respiratory illnesses other than COVID-19, too,” concluded Leis. “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.”