Women are “significantly” more likely to have a long Covid than men and will experience substantially different symptoms, a study found, stressing the critical need for gender-disaggregated research. Long Covid is a syndrome in which complications persist for more than four weeks after the initial Covid-19 infection, sometimes for many months.
Researchers at Johnson & Johnson’s Office of the Medical Director’s Women’s Health Team, which analyzed data from about 1.3 million patients, found that women with long Covid have a variety of symptoms such as ear, nose and throat problems. ; mood disorders, neurological, skin, gastrointestinal and rheumatological disorders; as well as fatigue.
Male patients, however, were more likely to suffer from endocrine disorders such as diabetes and kidney disorders.
Women are more likely to develop long-term Covid syndrome by 22 percent than men, the researchers said in a study published in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion.
“Knowledge of the fundamental gender differences that underpin the clinical manifestations, disease progression, and health outcomes of Covid-19 is crucial for the identification and rational design of effective and inclusive public therapies and public health interventions. and sensitive to the possible differential treatment needs of both sexes, “the researchers said.
“Differences in immune system function between women and men could be a major factor in sex differences in long-term Covid syndrome. Females develop faster and more robust innate and adaptive immune responses, which can protect them from infection. “However, this same difference may make women more vulnerable to prolonged autoimmune diseases,” they added.
For the study, the team reviewed 640,634 total articles for an amount of 1,393,355 unique individuals.
In particular, women may also be at increased risk for exposure to the virus in certain occupations, such as nursing and education, the researchers said.
In addition, “there may be gender disparities in access to care that could affect the natural history of the disease, leading to further complications and sequelae.”
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