Different COVID variants may give rise to different long COVID symptoms: study

A new European study published last week found that different variants of COVID-19 may result in different long COVID-19 symptoms.

The study, which will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon in April, found that the alpha variant of the coronavirus led to muscle aches and pain, insomnia, brain fog, anxiety and depression when compared to the original strain of the virus.

The research conducted by Michele Spinicci and colleagues at the University of Florence and Careggi University Hospital in Italy, suggested that people with more severe infections who required immunosuppressant drugs, such as tocilizumab, were six times as likely to report long COVID-19 symptoms, according to the release.

The retrospective observational study was conducted with 428 patients who were treated at the Careggi University Hospital’s post-COVID-19 outpatient service between June 2020 and June 2021.

Researchers said they identified substantial change in the pattern of neurological,  cognitive and emotional symptoms recorded by patients between March and December 2020, when compared to patients infected between January and April 2021.

The study found that when the alpha variant was the dominant strain, muscle aches and pain, insomnia, brain fog, anxiety and depression were symptoms noted as significantly increased, while loss of smell, difficulty in swallowing and impaired hearing were less common.

Researchers said they found that those who received high flow oxygen support were 40 percent more likely to increase the risk of developing long COVID-19 symptoms.

It also found that women were almost twice as likely to report symptoms of long COVID-19 compared with men. However, patients with type 2 diabetes had a lower risk of developing long COVID-19 symptoms.  

But the authors caution against using the findings from the study, as it was observational and does not prove “cause and effect.” They added that they could not confirm which variant of the virus caused the infection in different patients.

The study added that around 76 percent of patients reported that at least one COVID-19 symptom stayed with them after infection.

“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”, Spinicci said.

“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.”

Bloomberg noted that the U.S. National Institutes of Health is studying the effects of COVID-19 across a diverse cross-section of the population to help understand the cause of persistent symptoms.