Research updates, October 15

Written by

Miles W. Griffis

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October 15, 2024

A new study found that COVID-19 increased the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death, up to three years after acute infection — though the researchers warned that the risks could persist longer. Electronic health records of over 10,000 people showed that those who developed COVID-19 early in the pandemic had double the risk of cardiovascular events, while those with severe cases had four times the risk. It also found that people with O blood had lower risk of severe COVID-19. Read more in CNN.

A new MedRxiv preprint using consented data from 23andMe revealed new clues about Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and fibromyalgia. The multi-ancestry meta-analysis of over 53,000 people with Long COVID suggested three key genetic regions were linked to the disease: HLA-DRB1, ABO, and BOTF. Analysis of these regions pointed to underlying immune and thrombo-inflammatory mechanisms. “These findings can help identify populations vulnerable to Long COVID and inform future therapeutic approaches,” the study’s authors wrote.

Acute COVID-19 is linked to an increased risk of car crashes, likely due to neurological changes from SARS-CoV-2, a new study suggests. Published in Neurology, the authors used a poisson regression model to compare car crash records and COVID-19 statistics in seven states. “Neurologists dealing with post-COVID patients, should remember that they may have an obligation to report medically impaired drivers,” the authors wrote.

#LongCOVID, research update

Miles W. Griffis

2 responses

Barbara W. (In Seattle)

October 21, 2024

I’m in the U.S. & consider Covid-19 a very dangerous virus. I caught it Jan. 2020 in Seattle & several times since. The last time I had it was July 2024.

Unfortunately, Covid left me disabled by March of 2024 (despite a mild(ish) case) as it made symptoms of my ME/CFS more pronounced. It also ravaged my immune system.

Here it is, Oct. 21st…I woke up sick, I rarely ever go out into public…I don’t have to…I just get my Covid at home from my partner.

The doctors here aren’t tracking this virus anymore. I requested twice to have my illness in July added to my medical chart (just in case) and my doctor declined explaining that the CDC doesn’t require updates anymore.

You would think (as this continues to be a life altering virus for a lot of us) that there would be tracking & reporting…Nope, not anymore.

I think tracking it should be mandatory as it continues, changes & evolves. It’s just being swept under the rug here.
Judith Wilson

October 16, 2024

Interesting that your top link is to paper that interrogated a UK database…I would be interested to know how this database is generated as though living in UK all my life I have neither given permission for my medical details, even if anonymous, to be used, nor would my medical records show I had had Covid, as the population as a whole was encouraged to not contact health providers, and later when we were tested results were not linked to medical records. I think I had Covid 3x 2020-21, but my records might not even record Long Covid from April 2020 as referrals , where I live, were to cardiologists, respiratory etc depts not an LC clinic. So I would suggest those on the database would have had Covid badly and if not actually hospitalised were bad enough to go to A&E, and not those who coped at home. So the results would be skewed.