A new US study is the latest to identify several factors that make some people more susceptible to long Covid than others. Yet with millions around the globe experiencing debilitating symptoms weeks or months after first being infected, the medical establishment does not yet understand why.
Patients who have been obese at some point prior to infection with Covid-19 are at higher risk of developing long Covid, a new study from the University of Southern California (USC) has found.
Researchers also found links between specific symptoms experienced during initial infection and the likelihood of developing long Covid, with sore throats, headaches and hair loss more likely to indicate that symptoms would persist months later.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines long Covid as the presence of symptoms that last at least two months and cannot be explained by another diagnosis following coronavirus infection. The WHO says common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction, noting that symptoms may also fluctuate or reappear over time.
Since medical professionals first became aware of the long Covid phenomenon back in 2020, scientists and researchers have been perplexed by the varied profiles of susceptible patients and researchers have struggled to provide conclusive answers.
Studies indicate a laundry list of possible predictors, including repeat Covid infections, high viral load infections, the presence of dormant Epstein-Barr virus, the presence of autoimmune antibodies and a lack of vaccination.
Some studies also contradict each other. The USC study did not find links between long Covid and age, race or gender while a June 2022 study funded by Johnson & Johnson found that the likelihood of having long Covid syndrome was “significantly greater” among females.
“At the beginning in 2020, we knew nothing,” says Rebecca Livingston, a…
Source : france24
