People who recover from dengue are more likely to experience long-term health complications a year later than those who contract Covid-19, according to researchers from NTU Singapore.

Research has shown that people recovered from dengue have a 55% higher risk of developing cardiovascular problems such as irregular heartbeat, heart disease, and blood clots compared to those recovered from Covid-19.

The study analysed data from 11,707 dengue patients and 1,248,326 COVID-19 patients in Singapore between July 2021 and October 2022. The researchers looked for new health problems related to the cardiovascular, neurological and immune systems that emerged 31 to 300 days after infection.

The study’s unique comparison was made possible due to the spread of both dengue and COVID-19 during this period.

The study, published in the Journal of Travel Medicine, was conducted by a team from NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore’s Ministry of Health, Singapore General Hospital, National Centre for Infectious Diseases and National Environment Agency.

Dengue is one of the most common vector-borne diseases globally, and the long-term health problems it causes can significantly increase the healthcare burden on both individuals and countries.

“We were motivated to conduct the study because of the expanding geographical range of dengue due to climate change. We also compared the outcomes to those of people who recovered from COVID-19, as our previous research suggested a similar risk of long-term health complications,” said Assistant Professor Lim Jue Tao, lead author of the study.

The study highlights the importance of taking measures to prevent dengue and supports public health planning.