White blood cell count could predict severity of COVID-19 symptoms in postmenopausal women

Because of advances in therapy choices, a COVID-19 analysis is not as scary because it as soon as was, at the very least for most individuals. A brand new examine, nevertheless, means that it could now be simpler to foretell who’s almost certainly to undergo with extra critical illness signs based mostly on leukocyte (white blood cell) depend.

Outcomes of the examine are revealed on-line in Menopause within the article “Pre-pandemic leukocyte depend is related to severity of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 an infection amongst older ladies within the Girls’s Well being Initiative.”

Tens of millions of individuals worldwide undergo from the continuing results of COVID-19—which is brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 virus—even months after the preliminary analysis. Cognitive impairment and fatigue are the most typical lingering signs, with cognitive impairment affecting 70% of sufferers. Older adults—particularly ladies—are essentially the most in danger.

Though well being care professionals know much more about COVD-19 than they did initially of the pandemic in 2020, there are nonetheless many lingering questions relating to its impact on the human physique.

Though it’s primarily a respiratory illness, sustained results on a number of organ methods have been documented. Earlier research have proven an extreme immune response to a COVID-19 an infection.

Researchers on this newest examine, based mostly on secondary evaluation of information from the Girls’s Well being Initiative, sought to higher perceive preexisting danger components which will make sure adults—particularly older postmenopausal ladies—extra susceptible to extra critical ongoing signs. Particularly, they examined whether or not leukocyte depend (a broadly accessible medical marker of systemic irritation) was related to COVID illness outcomes.

Primarily based on the outcomes, the researchers concluded that leukocyte depend is an impartial predictor of COVID symptom severity in postmenopausal ladies. These outcomes lengthen the proof that low-grade irritation just isn’t solely an final result of COVID symptom severity however may precede the acute COVID-19 an infection.

Further analysis on this space is important, however the preliminary work is promising as a result of leukocyte depend represents an simply accessible, cheap medical marker.

“Because the authors spotlight, post-acute sequelae of extreme acute respiratory coronavirus 2 an infection considerably impacts high quality of life, usually resulting in extreme incapacity. This impact is especially pronounced in ladies, who already expertise larger charges of cognitive impairment after menopause. By understanding underlying components, we will higher tackle these challenges and work to mitigate the cascade of signs that comply with,” says Dr. Monica Christmas, affiliate medical director for The Menopause Society.