Scientists have identified six distinct types of COVID-19 – each with a specific collection of symptoms – in a breakthrough that could help doctors predict which patients are most at risk.

The different forms of the disease are believed to determine its severity among those infected – and whether they are likely to need respiratory support in hospital.

Those behind the study, led by researchers from King’s College London, say it will have major implications on treatment decisions during a potential second wave of coronavirus and could “save lives”.

Although a continuous cough, fever and loss of smell are usually highlighted as the three key symptoms of the illness, data gathered from around 1,600 users of the COVID Symptom Study app in the UK and US shows that people can experience a wide range of different effects.

These can include headaches, muscle pains, fatigue, diarrhoea, confusion, loss of appetite, shortness of breath and more.

And researchers concluded that which of the six main cluster of symptoms each infected person suffered tended to indicate how quickly the disease would progress and how ill they were likely to get.

They said patients’ outcomes varied significantly – from mild flu-like symptoms or a simple rash to severe disease or death.

The six clusters of symptoms – which emerged at similar points in the disease’s progression – were identified by the researchers along with the likely severity that each tended to correspond with.

And the team behind the study said that while some of the listed symptoms – such as confusion, abdominal pain and shortness of breath – had not been widely linked to COVID-19, they were hallmarks of its most severe forms.

They presented the six distinct clusters – or “types” of COVID-19 – as follows:

It was discovered that only 1.5% of people with cluster 1, 4.4% of people with cluster 2 and 3.3% of people with cluster 3 required breathing support.

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