Jun 21 2022 23:19
A new study, published today, Tuesday, examined the impact of the Covid disease long-term hope on men and women, to find out which of them are more vulnerable to it after infection with the emerging coronavirus.
The study, published in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, revealed that females are “significantly” more likely to suffer from long-term COVID-19 than males and will experience fundamentally different symptoms than men.
Long-term COVID-19 is a syndrome in which complications persist for more than four weeks and sometimes several months after infection with COVID-19.
Researchers from Johnson & Johnson, who conducted an analysis of data from nearly 1.3 million patients, noted that females with long-term Covid-19 experienced a variety of symptoms including ear, nose and throat, mood disorders, nervousness, dermatological, gastrointestinal and joint pain, As well as feeling tired.
While male patients were more likely to have endocrine disorders, such as diabetes and kidney disorders.
The study authors say, “Knowing the fundamental gender differences that underlie the clinical manifestations, disease progression, and health outcomes of COVID-19 is critical to identifying and designing effective treatments and comprehensive public health interventions for the potential differential treatment needs of both sexes.”
The team adds that, “Differences between females and males in immune system function could be an important driver of gender differences in long-term Covid syndrome. Females display faster and more robust innate and adaptive immune responses that can protect them from infection and, if it does occur, its severity. However, this same difference could make females more susceptible to developing autoimmune diseases for long periods.”
The researchers limited their study to academic papers published between December 2019 and August 2020 on COVID-19 and between January 2020 and June 2021 for long-term COVID syndrome.
The number of patients included in these studies was large. However, only 35 of the more than 640,000 articles provided sex-disaggregated data in sufficient detail about the symptoms and consequences of COVID-19 to understand how women and males experience the disease differently.
When looking at the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the results show that patients were more likely to have mood disorders such as depression, ear, nose and throat symptoms, musculoskeletal pain and respiratory symptoms. While male patients were more likely to suffer from disorders that affect the kidneys.
The research authors note that these available studies, on which they relied, are among the few that break down the specific health conditions that occur as a result of COVID-related diseases by gender. Studies have examined gender differences in hospitalization, admission to intensive care units, the need for respiratory assistance, as well as mortality. But research on the specific cases caused by the virus, and its long-term damage to the body, has not been well studied when it comes to gender differences.
The paper also points to other factors that merit further study. Women may be more at risk of contracting the virus in some professions due to their higher numbers in these professions than men, such as nursing and education.
The research concluded that the availability of data disaggregated by patient sex is essential if we are to ensure that disparate outcomes are addressed in the course of the disease.
Source: Al Ittihad – Abu Dhabi
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