LONDON: Women with long covid, a set of symptoms that survive for months outside the initial phase of SARS-COV-2 infection, shows more symptoms than men with research, according to a study.This research, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, found that women were statistically significantly more likely to have difficulty swallowing, fatigue, chest pain, and heart pounding in long-term follow-up compared to men.
Long-covid-syndrome is defined as persistent symptoms that exceed 12 weeks after the initial symptoms of acute infection.Researchers from Parma University, and Parma Hospitals, Italy, registered 223 patients (89 women and 134 men) infected by SARS-COV-2.They found that 91 percent of patients, which were followed up for five months, continued to experience Covid-19 symptoms.
Breathlessness is the most common symptom of Covid-19, followed by fatigue. Females are more flush than men, they said.Women are significantly more likely than men to report Dyspnea, weaknesses, thoracic pain, palpitations, and sleep disorders but not mialgia and cough, the researchers said.
“Sex is found as an important determinant of Covid-19 long syndrome because it is a significant predictor of persistent symptoms in women, such as Dyspnea, fatigue, chest pain, and palpitations,” the researchers said.”Our results suggest the need for long-term follow-up from these patients from sex perspectives to implement initial and personal preventive therapeutic strategies,” they said.
The researchers noted that sex differences were shown in the acute phase of Covid-19.Women are found less vulnerable to developing severe diseases than men, but some studies have judged sex differences in covid long syndrome, they said.”Long-term longitudinal studies are needed to fully understand the pathophysiology related to sex from the symptoms and impacts of pharmacological treatments related to Long Covid-19,” said the author of this study.”These studies will be very important to understand the natural trajectory of Long Covid-19 to implement targeted treatment strategies and to prevent bias in treating men and women,” he added.