Publications
Pre-existing conditions associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19
- Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) has been increasingly observed to occur in patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2
- To date, it is not known which comorbidities may increase an individual’s risk of developing PASC.
- In our longitudinal cohort study, we found that those with autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or multiple sclerosis were significantly more likely to develop PASC following SARS-CoV-2 infection than individuals without these comorbidities.
Persisting gastrointestinal symptoms and post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome following SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from the Arizona CoVHORT
The latest research from the Arizona CoVHORT followed persons with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from May 2020 through October 2021 in order to determine how acute gastrointestinal symptoms (GI) persist following COVID-19. It’s important to understand if there’s an association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistent GI symptoms because these symptoms can have considerable impacts to a person’s quality of life and result in a diagnosis of long-term GI disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). We found that persons with GI symptoms during their acute COVID-19 infection had a 4 times higher odds of persistent GI symptoms 45 days or more after infection. These GI symptoms lasted 8 months on average following initial acute infection and 30% had symptoms consistent with an IBS diagnosis. We also discovered that this relationship was modified by pre-existing conditions – if a person had no pre-existing conditions they had an 8 times higher odds of persistent GI symptoms, those with at least one had a 3 times higher odds. You can read more about our results in this article!
Elucidating symptoms of COVID-19 illness in the Arizona CoVHORT: a longitudinal cohort study
The most commonly reported symptoms of acute COVID-19 in the Arizona CoVHORT were fatigue (82.2%), headache (74.6%), aches, pains or sore muscles (66.3%), loss of taste or smell (62.8) and cough (61.9%). COVID-19-positive participants were more likely than negative participants to experience loss of taste and smell, bone or nerve pain, headache, nausea, or diarrhea. When comparing confirmed COVID-19 cases with either confirmed negative or untested participants, the pattern of symptoms for those with SARS-CoV-2 infection are different from symptoms from other potential circulating pathogens.
SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent changes in the menstrual cycle among participants in the Arizona CoVHORT Study
We observed 16% of the participants in our sample reported changes to their menstrual cycle after having a COVID-19 infection. The most commonly reported changes were: irregular menstruation (60%), increase in premenstrual syndrome symptoms (PMS) (45%), and infrequent menstruation (35%). Those participants who reported changes to their menstrual cycle were more likely to report a greater number of Covid-19 symptoms, including fatigue, headache, body aches and pains, and shortness of breath and to identify as Hispanic when compared to those who reported no changes to their menstrual cycle.
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in a non-hospitalized cohort: Results from the Arizona CoVHORT
In this manuscript, we sought to examine the clinical presentation and duration of illness of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), or long-COVID, among participants of the CoVHORT who where not hospitalized for their acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. As of February 24, 2021, there were 303 participants in the CoVHORT who had reported a positive test result and having had COVID-19. Among these 303 individuals, 208 (68.7%) participants reported still experiencing at least one symptom 30 days after their COVID-19 diagnosis and were classified as having PASC, or long-COVID.
Design of the Arizona CoVHORT: A Population-Based COVID-19 Cohort
This manuscript describes a scalable study design that utilizes a wide range of recruitment sources, leveraging electronic data collection to capture and link longitudinal participant data on the current and emerging issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.