Post-COVID-19 condition: a sex-based analysis of clinical and laboratory trends
Journal
Frontiers in Medicine
ISSN
2296-858X
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Gonzalo Martínez
Nicole Mac-Guire
Type
journal-article
Abstract
<jats:sec><jats:title>Background and aim</jats:title><jats:p>Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) encompasses long-lasting symptoms in individuals with COVID-19 and is estimated to affect between 31–67% of patients, with women being more commonly affected. No definitive biomarkers have emerged in the acute stage that can help predict the onset of PCC, therefore we aimed at describing sex-disaggregated data of PCC patients from a local cohort and explore potential acute predictors of PCC and neurologic PCC.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>A local cohort of consecutive patients admitted with COVID-19 diagnosis between June 2020 and July 2021 were registered, and clinical and laboratory data were recorded. Only those <65 years, discharged alive and followed up at 6 and 12 months after admission were considered in these analyses. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to explore variables associated with PCC (STATA v 18.0).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>From 130 patients in the cohort, 104 were contacted: 30% were women, median age of 42 years. At 6 months, 71 (68%) reported PCC symptoms. Women exhibited a higher prevalence of any PCC symptom (87 vs. 60%, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.007), lower ferritin (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.001) and procalcitonin (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.021) and higher TNF levels (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.042) in the acute phase compared to men. Being women was independently associated to 7.60 (95% CI 1.27–45.18, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.026) higher risk for PCC. Moreover, women had lower return to normal activities 6 and 12 months.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Our findings highlight the lasting impact of COVID-19, particularly in young women, emphasising the need for tailored post-COVID care. The lower ferritin levels in women are an intriguing observation, warranting further research. The study argues for comprehensive strategies that address sex-specific challenges in recovery from COVID-19.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Cite this document
Delfino, C., Poli, M. C., Vial, C., Vial, P. A., Martínez, G., Riviotta, A., Arbat, C., Mac-Guire, N., Hoppe, J., Carvajal, C., & Muñoz Venturelli, P. (2024). Post-COVID-19 condition: A sex-based analysis of clinical and laboratory trends. Frontiers in Medicine, 11, 1376030. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1376030
Project(s)
Subjects
post covid-19 condition
;
long covid
;
covid-19
;
sex-disaggregated
;
neurologic long-covid-19