Not even one in four people have completely recovered from Covid a full year after being hospitalised with the disease, a UK study indicated, warning that long Covid could become a common condition.

The study involving more than 2,300 people also found that women were 33 per cent less likely to fully recover than men, AFP reports.

It also found that obese people were half as likely to fully recover, while those who needed mechanical ventilation were 58pc less likely.

The study looked at the health of people who were discharged from 39 British hospitals with Covid between March 2020 and April 2021, then assessed the recovery of 807 of them five months and one year later.