New York: One study has found that women are “significantly” more likely to have chronic disease than men and to experience significantly different symptoms, underscoring the urgent need for sex-disaggregated research.
Long-Covid is a syndrome in which complications persist for more than four weeks after the initial infection with Covid-19, and sometimes for several months.
Researchers from the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Medical Director of the Women’s Health Team, who conducted an analysis of data from nearly 1.3 million patients, noted that women with long-term COVID-19 had a variety of symptoms including ear, nose, and throat problems; Mood disorders, nerves, skin, digestion and rheumatism. Likewise with fatigue.
However, male patients are more likely to have endocrine disorders such as diabetes and kidney disorders.
In the study, published in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, researchers noted that women were 22 percent more likely to develop Covid-19 syndrome in the long term than men.
“Knowledge of the gender differences underlying the clinical manifestations, disease progression, and health outcomes of COVID-19 is critical to identifying and designing effective care and comprehensive public health interventions that are sensitive to the different potential care needs of the sexes,” the researchers wrote. explain.
Differences in immune system function between women and men could be an important driver of gender differences in the protracted Covid syndrome. Women respond with faster and stronger innate and adaptive immune responses, which can protect them from primary and dangerous infections. However, these same differences may make women more susceptible to developing long-lasting autoimmune diseases.
For the study, the team reviewed 640,634 articles for a total of 1,393,355 unique individuals.
The researchers noted that women may be more at risk of catching the virus in some professions, such as nursing and education.
Furthermore, “there may be differences in access to care by sex which may influence the natural history of the disease, leading to further complications and consequences.”
(Ean)
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