Intestinal health associated with severe COVID-19, according to a new review

People infected with COVID-19 experience a variety of symptoms and severity. The most commonly reported problems are high fever and respiratory problems. However, autopsy and other studies have shown that the infection can affect the liver, kidneys, heart, spleen, and even the gastrointestinal tract. A significant proportion of patients hospitalized for respiratory distress also have diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, suggesting that the virus’ involvement in the gastrointestinal tract increases the severity of the disease.

In a review published this week mBioHeenam Stanley Kim, Ph.D., a microbiologist at Korea University’s Institute for Human-Microbial Interactions in Seoul, examines new evidence suggesting that poor intestinal health adversely affects the prognosis of COVID-19. I did.Based on his analysis, Kim suggested intestinal dysfunction and related ones. Leaky gut— Allowing the virus to access the surface and internal organs of the gastrointestinal tract can exacerbate the severity of the infection. These organs are vulnerable to infection because ACE2, the SARS-CoV-2 protein target, is spread on the surface.

“There seems to be a clear link between changes in the gut flora and severe COVID-19,” Kim said.

Studies show Medical condition High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Risk also increases with age, and older people are most vulnerable to the most serious complications and potential hospitalization.But both of these factors-with the elderly Chronic disease— The association with changes in the intestinal flora is well known. This imbalance can affect the integrity of the intestinal barrier, which can allow pathogens and pathogens to easily access cells in the intestinal membrane, Kim said.

So far, the link between gut health and the prognosis of COVID-19 has not been empirically demonstrated, Kim said. Some researchers argue that the unhealthy intestinal microbiome may be the underlying reason why some people have such severe infections.

What kind of research was done suggests a complex relationship.For example, in a study of symptomatological COVID-19 patients in Singapore, about half were at detectable levels. Coronavirus On a stool test — but only about half of them experienced gastrointestinal symptoms. The study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may not cause problems if it reaches the gastrointestinal tract. Kim also said that a person’s gut health at the time of infection may be important for the development of symptoms.

Many recent studies have found that intestinal samples collected from COVID-19 patients have reduced bacterial diversity compared to samples from healthy individuals. The disease is also associated with the depletion of beneficial bacterial species and the enrichment of pathogenic bacterial species. The two viruses differ in how they alter the overall microbial composition, but a similar imbalance is associated with influenza A infection.

Depleted bacterial species associated with COVID-19 infection include several families involved in the production of butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that plays a vital role in gut health by strengthening gut barrier function. It will be.

Kim said he realized that wealthy countries with well-developed medical infrastructure, such as the United States and Western European countries, were the most affected by the virus and began analyzing the investigation. The “Western diet” common in these countries is low in fiber, and “a fiber-deficient diet is one of the major causes of changes in the gut flora,” he said. “And such dysbiosis of the intestinal flora leads to chronic disease.”

The etiology of COVID-19 is not yet fully understood. If future studies show that gut health affects the prognosis of COVID-19, Kim argues that clinicians and researchers are for better strategies aimed at preventing and managing the disease. You need to take advantage of that relationship. Eating more fiber can reduce the risk of serious illness, he said. And fecal microbiota transplantation may be a treatment worth considering for patients with the worst cases of COVID-19.

However, he said, intestinal health problems are beyond COVID-19. Even after the pandemic is over, the world must consider chronic illnesses and other related issues. Intestinal health is poor..

“The whole world is suffering from this COVID-19 pandemic, but what people are unaware of is that the pandemic of the injured intestinal microbiome is now much more serious.”