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Women and those reinfected are at greater risk of developing long-term Covid, study points out

Have been infected two or more times by coronavirus and not having taken the fourth dose of the vaccine against the disease increase the risk of Covid long points out a study carried out by Instituto Todos pela Saúde and Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein released on Friday (6).

The work also points out that women are more affected by persistent symptoms, although the cause of this phenomenon is still unclear. The results were published in an article in pre-print format on the medRxiv platform and will still be reviewed by other researchers.

The research was carried out based on the analysis of data from more than 7,000 health professionals at the Einstein who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 between 2020 and 2022. Of this total, 1,933 (27.4%) reported long-term Covid-19, compared to 5,118 (72). .6%) who did not develop the condition.

According to Vanderson Sampaio, a researcher at ITpS and one of the authors of the article, the long definition of Covid used in the study was that of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.

“These are people with previous coronavirus infection who continue to have persistent symptoms of the disease for more than four weeks. Among the symptoms are fever, nasal congestion, tiredness, fatigue, headache, cough, breathing difficulties, among others”, he explained.

More than half (51.4%) of study participants who manifested long-term Covid had three or more persistent symptoms. Another 33.3% had only one symptom and 14.9% had two.

The most common symptoms were headache (53.4%), muscle or joint pain (46.6%) and nasal congestion (45.1%).

Symptoms

According to the ITpS, the study showed that reinfection increased the chance of persistent symptoms by 27%. Among survey participants who had only one confirmed Covid-19 infection, the long Covid rate stood at 25.8%. Among those who had two or more infections, the rate was 38.9%.

“This was the most impactful result, because it shows that people cannot have that thought that, if they caught the virus once, they already have immunity and are free to abandon protective measures. A new infection with the virus increases the body’s inflammatory reactions, increases the risk of a serious case and, consequently, of the long Covid”, says Sampaio.

Alexandre Marra, an Einstein researcher and first author of the study, reinforces that reinfection increases the risk of long-term Covid and that it can even happen to people who have not had the severe form of the disease.

“Even an asymptomatic person can have a long Covid. So, people have to keep protecting themselves and getting vaccinated and not think that if you get the disease a second time, it will be lighter, ”she said.

Vaccine

The Brazilian research also points out that only the four-dose vaccination scheme was able to protect against persistent symptoms – the fourth dose reduced the chances of long-lasting Covid by 95% in relation to the unvaccinated group.

According to the study data, among participants who did not receive any dose of the vaccine before infection, the long-term Covid occurrence rate was 36.7%. Among those who took the two regular doses, the rate dropped to 29%.

In the group that had already taken three doses, it was 15.5% and, in the group with the complete vaccination schedule of four doses, only 1.5% developed persistent symptoms.

According to Sampaio, the numbers show that protection against serious cases and long-term Covid increases with each dose taken, but points out that the fourth application is fundamental to guarantee protection against the worsening of the disease and against prolonged conditions.

He claims that studies are still not conclusive about the size of protection given by the third dose against long Covid and, therefore, the main recommendation now is to seek the complete scheme.

Source: CNN Brasil

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