COVID-19 accelerates aging of blood vessels in women, finds study
What's the story
A recent study has revealed that COVID-19 can speed up the aging of blood vessels, but this effect is mainly seen in women. The research was conducted by Rosa Maria Bruno and her team at Universite Paris Cite, France. They studied 2,390 people from 16 countries between September 2020 and February 2022 to explore the link between the virus and cardiovascular complications such as heart disease.
Research design
How the research was conducted
The study comprised two groups of people: those who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or had antibodies against it despite not being vaccinated, and those who had only ever tested negative. The researchers assessed artery health by measuring the speed of a pressure wave traveling between the carotid artery in the neck and femoral arteries in legs. This method helped gage artery stiffness, which is naturally higher with age and can increase heart disease risk.
Study findings
Women at greater risk
The study found that a known SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to stiffer arteries among women. The effect increased with the severity of their infection. For instance, hospitalized women had a vascular age around five years older than uninfected counterparts, which rose to 7.5 years among those admitted to intensive care. The researchers took into account other factors like smoking and obesity that could influence artery stiffness.
Gender disparity
No effect on men
Interestingly, the study didn't find similar effects among men. Previous studies have shown that women respond more strongly to infections than men and are less able to regulate their immune response, which could result in damaging inflammation. Bruno said she expected some difference between sexes but not this much of a disparity.
Long COVID
Findings could explain long COVID-19 effects in women
The findings could also explain why long COVID-19 seems to be more common among women. At a six-month follow-up, the stiffness of women's arteries had improved slightly but remained particularly high among those with lingering COVID-19-related complications. Bruno said, "Here we have demonstrated there is something measurable in the blood vessels that corresponds to the symptoms of long-COVID patients."
Research impact
Findings could lead to new treatments for long COVID-19
Despite some participants in the uninfected group possibly having mild infections, the study is considered robust. Vassilios Vassiliou from the University of East Anglia in UK said, "The study is the first large international multicenter investigation to demonstrate that COVID-19 is associated with accelerated vascular aging." He added these findings could help identify people with long COVID-19 and improve understanding of post-COVID-19 syndrome, potentially leading to targeted pharmacological interventions.