For some people, coronavirus can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is called post-Covid-19 syndrome or "long Covid".
A recent study has shown that women are more likely than men to suffer the effects of long Covid.
The research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine investigated the differences between coronavirus disease related symptoms and post-Covid symptoms between male and female Covid survivors.
Researchers collected clinical and hospitalisation data from hospital medical records from a sample of individuals recovered from Covid from five public hospitals in Spain.
Participants were asked to record any post-Covid symptoms, and other symptoms such as anxiety, depressive levels and sleep quality were also assessed.
Other common symptoms of long Covid, including the below list, were also recorded:
- extreme tiredness (fatigue)
- shortness of breath
- chest pain or tightness
- problems with memory and concentration ("brain fog")
- difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
- heart palpitations
- dizziness
- pins and needles
- joint pain
- depression and anxiety
- tinnitus, earaches
- feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
- a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
- rashes
A total of 1969 individuals were assessed eight months after being discharged from hospital.
No overall significant differences between onset Covid symptoms in men and women was recorded at hospital admission.
However, post-Covid symptoms were present in up to 60% of hospitalised Covid survivors eight months after the infection.
Women reported more post-Covid symptoms than males, with women on average reporting 2.25 symptoms and men 1.5.
Although thirty-seven per cent were completely free of any post-Covid symptom, 14.4% reported having more than three post-Covid symptoms.
The most frequent post-Covid symptoms were fatigue (61.3%) and shortness of breath at exertion (53.5%).
The number of symptoms was significantly higher in females than in males.
Similarly, a more significant proportion of females reported the presence of some post-Covid symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, pain symptoms, ocular problems, and hair loss when compared with males.
Females were also found to be at a higher risk of developing long-term post-Covid symptoms, including mood disorders.
