Long Covid patients at risk for digestive diseases up to 1 year: Study

Long Covid patients are at a higher risk for digestive diseases for up to one year according to a studyThe study published in the journal BMC Medicine showed that people who suffered both severe and mild Covid19 infections suffered from digestive diseases like gastrointestinal GI dysfunction peptic ulcers gastroesophageal reflux disease GERD gallbladder disease nonalcoholic liver disease and pancreatic diseaseldquoOur study provides insights into the association between Covid19 and the longterm risk of digestive system disorders Covid19 patients are at a higher risk of developing digestive diseasesrdquo said the researchers in the paperldquoThe risks exhibited a stepwise escalation with the severity of Covid19 were noted in cases of reinfection and persisted even after 1year followup This highlights the need to understand the varying risks of digestive outcomes in Covid19 patients over time particularly those who experienced reinfection and develop appropriate followup strategiesrdquo they addedIn the study the team from Southern Medical University in China and University of California Los Angeles US compared rates of digestive diseases among Covid survivors 30 or more days after infection 112311 a contemporary comparison group 359671 and a preCovid group 370979 in the UKParticipants were adults aged 37 to 73 and Covid19 survivors were infected from January 2020 to October 2022 The contemporary group was made up of people who lived at the same time as recruitment of the Covid19 group and the historical group was made up of uninfected participants with data from January 2017 to October 2019Relative to the contemporary group elevated risk in Covid19 survivors was 38 per cent for GI dysfunction 23 per cent for peptic ulcers 41 per cent for GERD 21 per cent for gallbladder disease 35 per cent for severe liver disease 27 per cent for nonalcoholic liver disease and 36 per cent for pancreatic diseaseThe risk of GERD rose stepwise with Covid19 severity and the risk of GERD and GI dysfunction persisted 1 year after diagnosis Reinfected participants had a higher likelihood of having pancreatic diseaseThis underscores the significance of ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to provide appropriate care to this population of mild cases as well as varying degrees of Covid severityIn addition the risks of GI dysfunction and GERD did not decrease after 1year followup revealing the longterm effect of Covid and the risks of digestive disordersThe researchers explained said that the reasons for the increased risks may be faecaloral viral transmission interactions between the SARSCoV2 spike protein and the expression of angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 ACE2 receptors in the digestive tract or virusassociated inflammationThis underscores the significance of ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to provide appropriate care to this population of mild cases as well as varying degrees of Covid19 severity they wroteThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever