Women Twice As Likely To Develop Long COVID, New Study Finds

It is estimated that globally 63% of those with long COVID during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic were women and they were twice as likely as men to experience long COVID, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.

The researchers also reported that the risk of developing long COVID rose dramatically for women who were hospitalised with the virus in comparison to the men who got hospitalised.

What is long COVID?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that if you have recovered from COVID-19 but are still experiencing certain symptoms you could have post COVID-19 condition or long COVID.

The common symptoms of the health condition are shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction known as ‘brain fog’ and fatigue. However, other patients have recorded symptoms of chest pain, trouble in speech, anxiety or depression, muscle aches, fever, and loss of smell and taste.

It is still not completely clear how long it lasts, but the average duration of long COVID symptoms was nine months for those hospitalised and four months for those who were not.

There is no specific treatment for it yet as researchers are still trying to understand the reason or mechanism behind the cause of long COVID, but people with underlying health conditions and those who did not get the vaccine are more prone to it.

People should seek care which is multidisciplinary in nature depending on the symptoms such as getting treatment from a primary care doctor, specialists, rehab professionals, social care workers and mental health practitioners.

Don't miss:Women With PCOS Had Heavier Periods Post Covid-19 Vaccination, Says A Study

Findings of the study

In 2020 and 2021, around 51% of long COVID patients complained of persistent fatigue with bodily pain and mood swings, 60% reported suffering from respiratory issues, and 35% reported cognitive problems, as per IHME estimations. They also found that in 38% of long COVID cases, two or three of the symptom clusters overlapped.

Dr. Theo Vos, Professor of Health Metrics at IHME and the paper’s senior author said that since SARS-CoV-2 first began to spread around the globe in 2020, three long COVID symptom clusters have prevented otherwise healthy people from fully recovering. “This keeps them from returning to work or school and even forces them to seek further medical attention or other rehabilitative services.”

15% of individuals with long COVID symptoms three months after becoming infected with COVID-19 continued to experience symptoms even after 12 months, the research stated.

“This important research estimates the proportion, severity and duration of long COVID symptoms that can help health communities and policymakers understand the need for proper medical treatment and adequate access to services to help people recover,” said lead author Dr. Sarah Wulf Hanson, a researcher at IHME.

Also Watch: