A new study suggests that a simple blood test could determine which patients are at risk of contracting long COVID.
A form of white blood cells, higher levels of leukocytes, are associated with more severe symptoms of long COVID among older women, researchers have written in a new study published on Wednesday in the journal of Menopause.
“Our findings suggest that leukocyte count, a well-standardised, stable, widely available, and inexpensive clinical marker of inflammation, is an independent predictor of future (long COVID) severity in postmenopausal women,” the research team led by Ted Ng concluded.
The study involved samples from 1,200 women who participated in a COVID research between June 2021 and February 2022, as per UPI.
More than a third (36%) of the participating women suffered from long COVID symptoms. 13% of them went through memory problems, 12% were found suffering from brain fog or confusion and difficulty in thinking or concentration, the results procured.
Researched added in the journal that of these women, 75% had two or more long COVID symptoms.
Women who had higher counts of leukocyte tended to have more of these symptoms and they tended to be more severe, the researchers added.
“These findings are consistent with evidence showing that elevated inflammatory markers during or after COVID-19 infection are associated with subsequent (long COVID) severity and (long COVID)-associated symptoms,” researchers wrote.
