| Names |
- Chronic post-COVID-19 syndrome
- Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19
Category: Systemic |
| Prevalence |
From 16,178,315 to 16,961,137 cases in the US (Ford 2024). Female/Male ratio: 6.3x. |
| Age of Onset |
No data. |
| Description |
In as many as 50% of cases of COVID-19 infection, the syndrome known as “Long COVID” continues to affect a person for months, even years. Data on this syndrome is mostly anecdotal and unscientific, but some formal research has been completed (citations below).
The symptoms of Long COVID are familiar to many people suffering from autoimmune diseases, including:
Fatigue
An unpredictable flare and remission pattern of recurrence
“Brain fog”, an interruption of memory, attention, and thought processing that can inhibit or prevent a person from performing normal activities
There are additional factors that COVID-19 and Long COVID share with autoimmune disease:
Myocarditis, reported among patients with COVID-19 and, in rare cases, among those who have been vaccinated, is also an autoimmune disease.
Blood clots similar to those found in the autoimmune disease antiphospholipid syndrome have been reported in patients with COVID-19 and Long COVID (though research suggests that the antibody response in Long COVID is not the same as the response found in autoimmune diseases).
High levels of antibodies to the immune-system proteins called type I interferons (IFNs) have been associated with severe COVID-19.
A further factor leading to the inclusion of Long COVID on the list of autoimmune diseases is that evidence shows that severely ill patients tend to have a high concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, compared to those who are moderately ill.
Finally, there are other suspected associations between viral infection and autoimmune diseases. Most well known of these is the Epstein-Barr virus, which can lead to acute autoimmune diseases like Gulliere-Barre syndrome and chronic diseases like lupus.
The Autoimmune Registry has decided to include Long COVID in its list of autoimmune diseases to support research into this emerging chronic condition. We classify the level of evidence as “Unconfirmed”, which indicates that:
The disease follows a pattern common to autoimmune diseases;
Autoimmunity has not been ruled out; and
More study is needed.
Not confirmed as an autoimmune or autoinflammatory disease.
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| Patient Groups |
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| Bloggers |
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| Symptoms |
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| Resources |
Link to Clinical Trials
Link to PubMed |
| References |
Link to Mayo Clinic
Link to Cleveland Clinic
Link to Healthline
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Profile by: Aaron AbendProfile updated December 2022Charts generated Oct 12, 2024 at 12:54 PM ET |
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Chronic post-COVID-19 syndrome sex breakdown
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Chronic post-COVID-19 syndrome age breakdown
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