Scientists from Johnson & Johnson found women are much more likely to suffer from long COVID than men and will experience substantially different symptoms.
The research is published in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion and was conducted by Shirley V. Sylvester et al.
Long COVID is a syndrome in which complications persist more than four weeks after the initial infection of COVID-19, sometimes for many months.
In the study, the team carried out the analysis of data from around 1.3 million patients, observed that women with long COVID are presenting with a variety of symptoms including ear, nose, and throat issues; mood, neurological, skin, gut and joint disorders; as well as fatigue.
Men patients, however, were more likely to experience endocrine disorders such as diabetes and kidney disorders.
The team says differences in immune system function between women and men could be an important driver of sex differences in long COVID syndrome.
Women 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 women more vulnerable to prolonged autoimmune-related diseases.
The team says sex differences in outcomes have been reported during previous coronavirus outbreaks.
Therefore, differences in outcomes between females and males infected with SARS-CoV-2 could have been anticipated.
Unfortunately, most studies did not evaluate or report granular data by sex, which limited sex-specific clinical insights that may be impacting treatment.
The paper also notes complicating factors worthy of additional study. Notably, women may be at greater risk of exposure to the virus in certain professions, such as nursing and education.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about old drug that can save your life from COVID-19https://knowridge.com/2021/09/vaccines-beat-natural-immunity-in-fight-against-covid-19/, and COVID-19 vaccines need to be shored up with a plant-based diet.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about which COVID-19 vaccine elicits the strongest immune responses, and results showing scientists find new antibody treatment for COVID-19.
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