SARS-CoV-2 variants yield different long COVID symptoms

People may have different long COVID symptoms, depending on which SARS-CoV-2 variant they were infected with, an Italian study out today suggests.

Research that is to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal, which takes place between 23 and 26 April, involved a retrospective observational study of 428 patients, 254 (59%) of whom were men and 174 (41%) women.

All were treated at the Careggi University Hospital’s post-COVID outpatient service between June 2020 and June 2021, when the original form of SARS-CoV-2 and the Alpha variant were circulating in the population.

The patients had received hospital treatment for COVID-19 and had been discharged between four and 12 weeks before they attended a clinical visit at the outpatient service and completed a questionnaire on persistent symptoms.

Data on medical history, microbiological and clinical COVID-19 course, and patient demographics were also obtained from electronic medical records.

Out of the 428 participants, 76% (325) reported at least one persistent symptom, with shortness of breath and chronic fatigue being the most common at 37% and 36% respectively.

This was followed by sleep problems, which affected 16% (68), and visual problems and brain fog that 55 and 54 reported respectively.

When they compared the symptoms reported by patients infected between March and December 2020, when the original SARS-COV-2 was dominant, with those reported by patients infected between January and April 2021, when Alpha was the dominant variant, they found a significant change in the pattern of neurological and cognitive/emotional problems.

When the Alpha variant was dominant, myalgia, insomnia, brain fog and anxiety/depression significantly increased, while anosmia, dysgeusia and impaired hearing were less common.

Dr Michele Spinicci, of the University of Florence and Careggi University Hospital, said: “Many of the symptoms reported in this study have been measured, but this is the first time they have been linked to different COVID-19 variants.

“The long duration and broad range of symptoms reminds us that the problem is not going away, and we need to do more to support and protect these patients in the long term. Future research should focus on the potential impacts of variants of concern and vaccination status on ongoing symptoms.”

European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases 23 April 2022

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