New Delhi:
Women might be at a 31 per cent higher risk of developing long Covid compared to men, with those aged 40-55 years likely to be at most risk, a study has found.
Among the women aged 40-55 years, the risk of long Covid was found to be even higher — 42 per cent in menopausal women and 45 per cent in non-menopausal women — the results of the ‘RECOVER’ trial, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open showed.
Long Covid is estimated to affect about a third of those once infected with Covid-19, with symptoms, such as fatigue and brain fog, persisting well beyond the acute recovery period. The condition, including its causes and treatments, continues to be studied around the world.
Researchers, led by those at The University of Texas, US, followed more than 12,200 people (73 per cent of women), who reported their symptoms while responding to questionnaires at their first study visit at least six months after infection. The participants were enrolled between October 2021, and July 2024.
The trial showed that all women, except those aged 18-39 years, had a 31 per cent higher risk of long Covid — regardless of race, ethnicity, Covid variant and severity of the viral infection.
The study helps identify risk factors for long Covid critical for preventing and treating the often debilitating disease, according to lead researcher Thomas Patterson, a professor of medicine and chief of the division of infectious diseases, school of medicine, The University of Texas.
The researchers added that biological processes contributing to sex-specific differences of long Covid need to be identified that can help develop targeted drugs and improve management of the condition.
“These findings show that patients and health care teams should consider the differences in long COVID risk as it relates to sex assigned at birth,” corresponding author Dimpy Shah, an assistant professor of population health sciences at The University of Texas, said.
“Understanding these differences can help us recognise and treat patients with long Covid more effectively,” Shah said.
While previous studies have shown women to have a tendency for post-viral and autoimmune conditions, it is not clear if the same is true for long Covid, especially within different age groups, the researchers said.
“This study gives us new knowledge and builds on other studies that also looked at sex assigned at birth and long Covid,” Shah said.
“Because of the size of the RECOVER study and the diversity of participants, we had a special opportunity to look at sex assigned at birth while also considering things like vaccination status, autoimmune disease, diabetes, BMI and Covid variant,” the corresponding author said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)