COVID increases chances of long-term gastrointestinal problems

By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Add gastrointestinal issues to the long list of lingering conditions that can follow COVID-19.

New search found that people who have had COVID-19 are at increased risk of gastrointestinal disorders in the year following their infection, including liver problems, acute pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux and ulcers in the stomach lining or upper intestine.

They may also have an increased risk of constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating and vomiting, according to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., and Alumni Health Care System St. Louis fighters.

“Gastrointestinal issues were among the first reported by the patient community,” study lead author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Washington, said in a school press release. “It is increasingly clear that the [gastrointestinal] tract serves as a reservoir for the virus.

This is the latest result of Al-Aly’s ongoing research into the lingering effects of COVID-19 on the brain, heart, kidneys and other organs. In total, about 80 adverse health effects have been associated with a long duration of COVID.

“At this stage of our research, the conclusions on the [gastrointestinal] tract and long COVID did not surprise us,” Al-Aly said. “The virus can be destructive, even among people considered healthy or who have had mild infections. We see the ability of COVID-19 to attack any organ system in the body, sometimes with serious long-term consequences, including death.

For this study, researchers analyzed approximately 14 million medical records in a database maintained by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

From there, they created a controlled data set of over 154,000 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and January 15, 2021 and had lived beyond the first 30 days.

Investigators then used statistical modeling to compare gastrointestinal outcomes in COVID-19 survivors with two groups of people who had not had the virus.

Gastrointestinal disorders were 36% more likely in people with COVID-19 than in those who had not had the virus.

“A lot of people are making comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu,” Al-Aly said. “We compared the health outcomes of people hospitalized with influenza versus those hospitalized with COVID, and we still found an increased risk of [gastrointestinal] disorders in people hospitalized with COVID-19. Even this far into the pandemic, COVID-19 remains more serious than the flu. »

Those with prior COVID-19 infections had a 62% increased risk of ulcers in the stomach lining or small intestine; a 35% higher risk of acid reflux; and a 46% increased risk of acute pancreatitis.

Additionally, they were 54% more likely to have irritable bowel syndrome and 47% more likely to have inflamed stomach lining.

These patients were also 54% more likely to have digestive symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, vomiting and abdominal pain.

“Taken with all the evidence that has accumulated so far, the findings of this report call for the urgent need to double and accelerate our efforts to develop strategies to prevent and treat the long-term health effects after cancer. ‘COVID-19 infection,’ Al-Aly said.

Researchers estimate that COVID-19 infections have contributed to more than 6 million new cases of gastrointestinal disorders in the United States and 42 million worldwide.

While the study was mostly made up of older white men, the data also included more than 1.1 million women and adults of all ages and races.

More recent data shows that vaccination, which was mostly unavailable during the study period, offers some protection against long COVID.

“While vaccines can help reduce the risk of long-term COVID, they do not offer complete protection against long-term symptoms of COVID-19 which can affect the heart, lungs, brain and now we know that. , THE [gastrointestinal] leaflet,” Al-Aly said.

The results of the study were published online March 7 in Nature Communication.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have more on long COVID.

SOURCE: Washington University in St. Louis, press release, March 6, 2023

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