Women have 31% higher risk of developing long COVID compared to men: Study

A new study has found that women have a 31 per cent increased risk of developing long COVID when compared to men. The study also revealed that women aged between 40 and 55 years have the highest risk. Of these women, the risk of long COVID is higher; 42 per cent in menopausal women and 45 per cent in non-menopausal women. 

The study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open. Long COVID usually affects about a third of people who were once infected with COVID-19. Symptoms of long COVID include fatigue and brain fog which persist well beyond the acute recovery period. Long COVID, both its causes and treatments, continue to be studied around the world. 

The study was led by researchers from The University of Texas, US. They followed more than 12, 200 people, 73% of whom were women. These participants reported their symptoms while responding to questionnaires at their first study visit at least six months after infection. The participants of the study were enrolled between October 2021 and July



2024. 

The study revealed that all women, except those between 18 and 39 years have a 31 per cent higher risk of long COVID-19. This was regardless of their race, ethnicity, COVID variant and severity of the viral infection.

Thomas Patterson, lead researcher and a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases with the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, and principal investigator for PREVAIL South Texas said, "This important study from the RECOVER cohort identifies risk factors for long COVID that are critical in providing insights for prevention and treatment of this often debilitating disease."

Dimpy Shah, MD, PhD, assistant professor of population health sciences with the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio and corresponding author of the study said, "These findings show that patients and health care teams should consider the differences in long COVID risk as it relates to sex assigned at birth. Understanding these differences can help us recognize and treat patients with long COVID more effectively."