Women have a higher risk of developing long-term Covid – 03/23/2023 – Health

A new study has pointed out the risks associated with developing symptoms of the so-called long Covid. Among them are being female (56% higher), being aged between 40 and 69 years (21% higher) and being a smoker (10%).

Other comorbidities, such as immunosuppression (50%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; 38% higher) and ischemic heart disease (28%) were also associated with a higher risk of developing symptoms.

Risks were also higher in people who needed hospital care or were admitted to ICUs (Intensive Care Units) during the acute phase of the disease (148% and 137% higher risk, respectively).

Already vaccination with at least two doses of immunizers against Covid had a reduction of more than 40% in the risk of post-Covid.

Data are from a systematic review that evaluated conditions associated with post-Covid syndrome. The article was published this Thursday (23) in the specialized journal Jama Internal Medicine by British researchers.

Post-Covid syndrome is defined by the WHO (World Health Organization) as the persistence of symptoms up to three months after acute infection with the coronavirus and lasting for at least two months.

Among the main post-Covid symptoms are those associated with neurological problems (loss of smell, loss of taste, forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, hair loss) and problems related to the pulmonary system (shortness of breath, difficulty for breathing, whooping cough).

To assess the risk factors associated with long-term Covid, the researchers looked for studies that included adult patients, with symptoms occurring at least three months after the onset of Covid and that contained information on sex, age, previous health conditions and vaccination status. After the search, they came up with a total of 41 studies with a total of 860,783 patients. Data includes patients from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The research consisted of performing a meta-analysis (analysis of data published in previous studies, without collecting new information) of the risk factors listed in previous publications.

Vassilios Vassiliou, corresponding author of the study and researcher at the Norwich Medical School (UK), said that the study is the largest and most detailed to date, and the multivariate analysis allows us to safely state the main risk factors associated with post-Covid . “More than that, it allows assigning an additional risk weight to each risk factor. For example, if someone is a smoker and obese, he will have the risk of smoking and obesity, reaching an overall risk of 1.27 [27% maior]”, it says.

According to him, although women have a slightly higher risk for post-Covid, men are also significantly affected by long Covid-and this risk is aggravated when there are pro-inflammatory conditions, such as some forms of asthma and overweight. . On the other hand, vaccination plays an important role in both the protection of the acute and post-Covid phases.

The study concludes that the different risks found show how the post-Covid syndrome is a complex and multifactorial condition. “What our study shows, in addition to the benefit of vaccination, is that a healthier lifestyle with reduced weight and smoking, in addition to all the benefits they bring to other cardiovascular diseases and cancer, also have a reduction in the risk of Covid long,” he concludes.

PAXLOVID REDUCES POST-COVID SYMPTOMS

In another study also published on Thursday (23) in the journal Jama Internal Medicine, scientists from the Research and Development Service of St. Louis (Missouri), the University of Washington, the Missouri Veterans Education and Research Foundation, and the St. Louis, USA, found a reduction in the overall risk of developing post-Covid symptoms in patients who used Paxlovid.

The antiviral, which is a combination of the drugs nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, was associated with a 24% reduction in the onset of post-Covid symptoms when used in the acute phase of the disease for five days with two pills a day.

According to the survey, which evaluated more than 280,000 patients who had a confirmed test for Sars-CoV-2 in the period from January 3 to December 31, 2022, among which 35,717 received treatment with Paxlovid, the risk of hospitalization after the acute condition was also 24% lower and the risk of post-Covid death was reduced by 47%.

In conclusion, the authors state that treatment with Paxlovid, regardless of medical history or vaccination status, reduced the risk of developing post-Covid symptoms, thus being an unequivocal benefit of the drug.

In Brazil, Paxlovid was incorporated into the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde) in March 2022, but medical entities and specialists criticize the lack of access to treatment and the reduced number of units.

Several reports from health professionals say that the drug is not available in public hospitals in the country.

At the end of last year, Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) authorized its sale in pharmacies. Currently, it can be found in pharmacies, with the need for a medical prescription, for almost R$ 5,000.

He is indicated for adults who are not under oxygenation use, but who are at risk of evolving into serious Covid frames.