Females far likelier to suffer with Long COVID

Long COVID is a syndrome in which complications persist more than four weeks after the initial infection of COVID-19, sometimes for many months. A new study published in the Current Medical Research and Opinion journal, reveals that females are significantly more likely to suffer from Long COVID than males and will experience substantially different symptoms.

Theanalysis of data from around 1.3 million patients, observed females with Long COVID they were presenting with a variety of symptoms including ear, nose, and throat issues; mood, neurological, skin, gastrointestinal and rheumatological disorders; as well as fatigue.Male patients, however, were more likely to experience endocrine disorders such as diabetes and kidney disorders.

Differences in immune system function between females and males could be an important driver of sex differences in Long COVID syndrome. Females mount more rapid and robust innate and adaptive immune responses, which can protect them from initial infection and severity. However, this same difference can render females more vulnerable to prolonged autoimmune-related diseases.

Plenty of studies have examined sex differences in hospitalization, ICU admission, ventilation support, and mortality. But the research on the specific conditions that are caused by the virus, and its long-term damage to the body, have been understudied when it comes to gender.

However, the current study did highlight the fact that long covid does affect women far more than the male population.

Reference: Shirley V. Sylvester, Rada Rusu, Biankha Chan, Martha Bellows, Carly O'Keefe & Susan Nicholson (2022) Sex differences in sequelae from COVID-19 infection and in long COVID syndrome: a review, Current Medical Research and Opinion, DOI: 10.1080/03007995.2022.2081454