Experts recently told The Lily (published by The Washington Post) that women report more COVID-19 symptoms over a long distance, raising questions about how the virus affects women and men.
Context
Some COVID-19 patients suffer for weeks if it is months after their diagnosis of symptoms. These patients are called ‘long guards’. Some of the long-distance symptoms include exhaustion, shortness of breath, headache, rapid heartbeat, change in taste and smell, and brain fog, among others.
So what’s new?
Ryan Hurt, the lead researcher at the Mayo Clinic on post-COVID-19 syndrome, told The Lily that he had seen 20,000 positive COVID-19 cases in his hospital. In total, 10% of the cases had long-distance symptoms. And 60% to 80% of the patients were women.
- Diana Berrent, the founder of Survivor Corps, a group for COVID-19 long-distance guards, also said her group has 150,000 members – 82% are women and 18% men.
Hurt said he was not sure why there might be a difference between women and men suffering from long-distance symptoms, but it could be related to the immune system.
- Per The Lily; “Apart from biology, there may be a deep sociological or cultural underpinning that justifies the rupture – simply that women are more willing to seek medical help and talk openly about symptoms, especially those related to mood and cognitive problems. “
What about men?
Research has shown that men also handle COVID-19 differently. A study in December, for example, suggested that men with COVID-19 were three times more likely to require intensive care, according to MedicalExpress. Men were also at higher risk of dying from the new coronavirus.
- “These data can help doctors realize that sex is a risk factor for serious illness in treating patients,” co-author Kate Webb told Newsweek at the time.
- “Sex is a sub-variable in many studies, and it’s a reminder that it’s an important factor to consider in research,” Webb told Newsweek.