Izquierdo Condoy, Juan Sebastian and Fernandez-Naranjo, Raul and Vasconez-González, Eduardo and Cordovez, Simone and Tello-De-la-Torre, Andrea and Paz, Clara and Delgado-Moreira, Karen and Carrington, Sarah and Viscor, Ginés and Ortiz-Prado, Esteban UNSPECIFIED (2022) Long COVID at Different Altitudes: A Countrywide Epidemiological Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (22). p. 14673. ISSN 1660-4601
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Abstract
Background: Several reports from around the world have reported that some patients who have recovered from COVID-19 have experienced a range of persistent or new clinical symptoms after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. These symptoms can last from weeks to months, impacting everyday functioning to a significant number of patients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis based on an online, self-reporting questionnaire was conducted in Ecuador from April to July 2022. Participants were invited by social media, radio, and TV to voluntarily participate in our study. A total of 2103 surveys were included in this study. We compared socio-demographic variables and long-term persisting symptoms at low (<2500 m) and high altitude (>2500 m). Results: Overall, 1100 (52.3%) responders claimed to have Long-COVID symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most of these were reported by women (64.0%); the most affected group was young adults between 21 to 40 years (68.5%), and most long-haulers were mestizos (91.6%). We found that high altitude residents were more likely to report persisting symptoms (71.7%) versus those living at lower altitudes (29.3%). The most common symptoms were fatigue or tiredness (8.4%), hair loss (5.1%) and difficulty concentrating (5.0%). The highest proportion of symptoms was observed in the group that received less than 2 doses. Conclusions: This is the first study describing post-COVID symptoms’ persistence in low and high-altitude residents. Our findings demonstrate that women, especially those aging between 21–40, are more likely to describe Long-COVID. We also found that living at a high altitude was associated with higher reports of mood changes, tachycardia, decreased libido, insomnia, and palpitations compared to lowlanders. Finally, we found a greater risk to report Long-COVID symptoms among women, those with previous comorbidities and those who had a severer acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; long-COVID; sequalae; symptoms; Latin America; high altitude |
| Subjects: | Subjects > Biomedicine |
| Divisions: | Ibero-american International University > Research > Scientific Production |
| Depositing User: | Sr Bibliotecario |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Dec 2022 12:42 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jan 2023 14:50 |
| URI: | http://repositorio.funiber.org/id/eprint/4912 |
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