Women are at a higher risk of developing long Covid than men. However, men are more likely to suffer from severe Covid-19 infections and have higher mortality rates, according to a new JAMA study. More specifically, women are 1.31 times more likely to have long Covid than their male counterparts.
“A review of the literature combined with our data suggests that differences in hormonal levels may partially explain the higher prevalence of long Covid in females younger than 55 years. An attenuation in the risk ratio of long Covid for females aged 18 to 39 years may be explained by most pregnant individuals belonging to this age category,” the authors explained in the study.
“Our data align with published data on post-viral myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia, which are disorders that are female predominant and have known alterations in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis,” they added. “Multiple studies have demonstrated that chronic conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, ME/CFS, and Alzheimer’s disease, are more prevalent in females compared with males.”