{"title":"Post-COVID-19 syndrome and low-grade inflammation: exploring gender and occupational inequalities in a retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Lin Yanhui, Wang Jiangang, Gao Jianping, Wang Tao","doi":"10.1093/inthealth/ihaf021","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>To investigate the association between post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome (PCS) and chronic low-grade inflammation (LGI) in blood cells in 4108 mild COVID-19 patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The data were collected within 12-24 weeks before and 24 weeks after COVID-19 infection. The χ2 test was utilized to analyse the differences between two groups. The relationship between PCS symptoms and inflammatory cells was analysed by logistic regression analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The most common PCS symptom was cough, reported as 'occasionally' by 33.47% and 'frequently' by 5.92%. Women exhibited more severe symptoms than men. Among healthcare workers, palpitations were more pronounced (0.76% versus 0.35%), while the prevalence of other PCS symptoms was lower compared with non-healthcare workers. After adjusting for confounding factors, women showed a higher risk of five types of PCS, and healthcare workers had a greater risk of fatigue and dizziness compared with the non-healthcare worker. Fatigue was associated with lymphocytes, monocytes and the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Cough correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), NLR and the platelet:lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Dizziness was linked to hs-CRP, NLR and PLR. Palpitations correlated with hs-CRP.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that PCS symptoms may be associated with LGI in peripheral blood cells, gender and occupational inequalities, warranting further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":49060,"journal":{"name":"International Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf021","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: To investigate the association between post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome (PCS) and chronic low-grade inflammation (LGI) in blood cells in 4108 mild COVID-19 patients.
Methods: The data were collected within 12-24 weeks before and 24 weeks after COVID-19 infection. The χ2 test was utilized to analyse the differences between two groups. The relationship between PCS symptoms and inflammatory cells was analysed by logistic regression analysis.
Results: The most common PCS symptom was cough, reported as 'occasionally' by 33.47% and 'frequently' by 5.92%. Women exhibited more severe symptoms than men. Among healthcare workers, palpitations were more pronounced (0.76% versus 0.35%), while the prevalence of other PCS symptoms was lower compared with non-healthcare workers. After adjusting for confounding factors, women showed a higher risk of five types of PCS, and healthcare workers had a greater risk of fatigue and dizziness compared with the non-healthcare worker. Fatigue was associated with lymphocytes, monocytes and the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Cough correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), NLR and the platelet:lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Dizziness was linked to hs-CRP, NLR and PLR. Palpitations correlated with hs-CRP.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that PCS symptoms may be associated with LGI in peripheral blood cells, gender and occupational inequalities, warranting further investigation.
期刊介绍:
International Health is an official journal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. It publishes original, peer-reviewed articles and reviews on all aspects of global health including the social and economic aspects of communicable and non-communicable diseases, health systems research, policy and implementation, and the evaluation of disease control programmes and healthcare delivery solutions.
It aims to stimulate scientific and policy debate and provide a forum for analysis and opinion sharing for individuals and organisations engaged in all areas of global health.