Long COVID: Women are more likely to suffer than men

New studies show that women are more likely to suffer from COVID syndrome, which is “significantly” longer than men.

A study conducted by researchers at the Johnson & Johnson office of the Chief Medical Officer Health of Women team found that women with long-term COVID had 22% higher odds than men.

The findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal on Monday. Current medical research and opinions..

Also known as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, or PACS for short, long COVIDs, it occurs when symptoms last for at least 4 weeks, and in some cases months, from the initial recovery period.

Long understanding of COVID is limited, but the syndrome can be debilitating, Affects between 10 percent and one-third Of infected people.

Previous studies have shown that women are less likely to develop more serious illness than men in the acute phase of COVID-19, but researchers have evaluated gender differences associated with long COVID. States to say that there are few.

“Knowledge of the clinical manifestations of COVID-19, disease progression, and the underlying gender differences that underpin health outcomes includes both potential discriminatory treatment needs and sensitive and effective treatments. Essential for identifying and rational design of public health interventions. Gender. ” The author of the study wrote..

According to the latest research, women with long COVIDs have a variety of respiratory problems in the ears, nose and throat, mood and neuropathy, skin rashes, musculoskeletal pain and malaise, gastrointestinal and rheumatic disorders. Showed symptoms.

By comparison, researchers found that the men studied were more likely to experience endocrine disorders such as diabetes and kidney problems.

The authors of this study emphasize that the findings emphasize the “significant need” of gender-based studies, and differences in immune system function between women and men may be a “significant driver” in the development of long COVIDs. There is. “

“Women can initiate a faster and stronger innate and adaptive immune response and protect them from initial infections and severity. However, this same difference makes women long-term autoimmune-related disorders. Can be more vulnerable to, “they write.

Researchers gathered from previous studies published on COVID-19 between December 2019 and August 2020, and long-term COVID studies conducted between January 2020 and June 2021. We analyzed data from about 1.3 million patients.

Of the 640,634 articles studied, researchers say that only 35 provided sufficient gender COVID-19 data to investigate how women and men experience illness.

Previous studies examined gender differences in hospitalization, ICU admission, and death, but researchers found that the conditions caused by COVID-19 and their long-term effects on the body were sufficient for women and men. It states that it has not been studied.

The authors of the study note that gender differences in the results of previous coronavirus outbreaks have been reported. For this reason, they say, the difference between women and men infected with COVID-19 was “predictable.”

“Unfortunately, most studies did not evaluate or report detailed gender data, limiting gender-specific clinical insights that could affect treatment,” they write. ..

Researchers have considered additional factors that may affect gender-classified data for COVID-19, such as gender disparities in care and employment access, and others have found findings. He says he wants to build. For example, the study points out that certain occupations, such as nursing and education, may increase the risk of women being exposed to the virus.

More research is needed because the authors of the study state that these factors “affect the natural history of the disease and can lead to more complications and sequelae.”

Researchers say having gender-classified data is “essential to ensuring that they deal with different outcomes in the course of the disease.”