A new peer-reviewed paper published in the journal JAMA suggests that women are twice as likely than men to experience long-term symptoms of COVID-19.
Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US estimated that globally 63 percent of those with chronic covids during the first two years of the pandemic were women.
IHME also found that the risk of developing long-term COVID increased dramatically for women who were hospitalized with the virus compared to men who were hospitalized.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines prolonged COVID as symptoms that are present with a duration of at least two months to three months after being infected with COVID-19.
The study also found that the risk of developing long-term COVID increased dramatically for women who were hospitalized with the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to men who were hospitalized.
“Since SARS-CoV-2 first began spreading around the world in 2020, three prolonged COVID symptom clusters have prevented otherwise healthy people from fully recovering, preventing them from returning to work or school and It has even forced them to seek further medical assistance. Rehabilitation services,” said Theo Vos, professor of health metrics at IHME and senior author of the research paper.
The team estimates that in 2020 and 2021, about 51 percent of tall COVID patients complained of persistent fatigue with physical pain or mood swings, 60 percent reported that they suffered from respiratory problems, and 35 percent reported cognitive problems. Gave.
The researchers also found that in 38 percent of chronic Covid cases, two or all three symptom groups overlap.
“This important research provides an estimate of the proportion, severity and duration of prolonged COVID symptoms that can help health communities and policy makers understand the need for appropriate medical treatment and adequate access to services to help people recover.” ,” study lead author Sarah Wolf Hanson, research scientist at IHME, said in a statement.
The researchers said the median duration of prolonged COVID symptoms was nine months for those who were hospitalized and four months for those who were not.
He said that even three months after being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, about 15 per cent of people with prolonged COVID symptoms continued to experience symptoms even at 12 months.
(with inputs from PTI)
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