**“About 16% of pregnant individuals developed symptoms consistent with Long COVID, compared to approximately 19% of non-pregnant individuals.**“
Technology Network
Summary
A study found that pregnant women are less likely to develop Long COVID than non-pregnant individuals, with 16% of pregnant women and 19% of non-pregnant individuals experiencing lingering symptoms post-infection.
Subgroups of pregnant women, such as those over 35, Black individuals, and those with obesity or metabolic disorders, showed higher relative risks for Long COVID, but the overall risk remained lower than in non-pregnant individuals.
Researchers hypothesise that immune and inflammatory changes during pregnancy and postpartum may provide some protection against Long COVID, though further studies are needed to confirm this.
Extracts
Pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 may be less likely to develop Long COVID than non-pregnant individuals of similar demographic backgrounds, according to a large retrospective analysis published in Nature Communications on April 1.
The study was conducted by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Utah Health and Louisiana Public Health Institute, and examined electronic health record data from approximately 72,000 pregnant women and 208,000 non-pregnant controls.
In the PCORnet [National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network] dataset, about 16% of pregnant individuals developed symptoms consistent with Long COVID, compared to approximately 19% of non-pregnant individuals.
Although the overall risk was lower for those pregnant during infection, the researchers noted that certain groups of pregnant individuals had higher relative risk than others. These included women aged 35 and older, individuals identifying as Black and those with obesity or other metabolic disorders.
Despite these subgroup differences, Long COVID incidence remained lower in pregnant individuals than in their non-pregnant counterparts across all categories analyzed.
MEA Comment:
A large research study has found pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 had a lower incidence of Long COVID compared to non-pregnant individuals. The research examined data from over 280,000 individuals.
This interesting new research indicates that the changes in immune system status and hormonal status during pregnancy, and the subsequent reaction to infections and inflammatory responses, may reduce the risk of developing Long Covid during pregnancy.
There is also a lot of anecdotal, and some research evidence, to indicate that a significant proportion of women with ME/CFS who are pregnant experience an improvement in symptoms for the same reasons – although this improvement may not last once the baby is born…
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS
Charles Shepherd
More Information:
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An image of a pregnant lady on a bed. Overlay of the first page of the leaflet (bottom left) and the ME Association logo (bottom right).