Half the people infected with COVID-19 develop other health complications finds a study published in the medical journal, Lancet.

The study is one of the most extensive studies in the area involving over 70,000 participants from 302 hospitals in the UK, between the ages of 19 and 90.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic persists globally, an emerging challenge is the shift from acute infection to the burden of long-term consequences resulting from the disease," say researchers Xiaoying Gu and Bin Cao commenting on the study's findings.

The study found that 49.7 percent of the hospitalised participants developed at least one complication.

The study also said, males and those aged older than 60 years were most likely to have a complication.

23 092 of the 73,197 participants ended up succumbing to the illness.

In the patients who did survive, the most common complications noticed by the researchers were renal (of the kidneys), complex respiratory, and systemic complications.

Other than these, some patients also reported cardiovascular, neurological, and gastrointestinal issues.

The complication led to a higher risk of mortality among these patients, and also lowered their quality of life and ability to care for themselves after they were discharged.

According to the researchers involved, this study can not only hep us prepare for future waves of COVID-19, but also gauge the overall burden on the healthcare systems going forth.