Topline
Women who regularly exercise, follow a high-quality diet, get adequate sleep and follow other healthy lifestyle choices cut the risk of long Covid in half compared with women without any healthy lifestyle factors, a study out Monday suggests, after researchers continue to examine what leads to and exacerbates the complex condition.
Nancy Rose, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and continues to exhibit long-haul symptoms including … [+]
Key Facts
Healthy lifestyle habits, including maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking and moderate alcohol consumption were among the other factors researchers considered in the study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 32,000 female participants who reported their lifestyle habits in 2015 and 2017, some of whom then reported having Covid between April 2020 and November 2021.
Among the women who contracted Covid-19 during the study, 44% of them developed long Covid and of those women, the participants who practiced five or six of the healthy lifestyle factors lowered their risk of long covid by 49%, researchers said.
The factors most strongly associated with lowering the risk of long Covid were maintaining a healthy body weight and getting adequate sleep, the study found.
Researchers suggested that one underlying possibility for the associations found in the study was the connection between an unhealthy lifestyle and the increased risk of chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation, both of which have been linked with the increased risk of long Covid.
Symptoms of long covid include fever, fatigue, respiratory problems, heart and neurological symptoms, as well as digestive issues.
Key Background
With an estimated eight to 23 million Americans suffering from long Covid—having Covid-19 symptoms for four weeks or more after infection—the findings of this observational study build on other research that has been done to better understand long Covid. In December, a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that getting more exercise can help reduce the risk of severe Covid-19, hospitalization and death. The more active patients in the study were prior to infection, the lower the risk of hospitalization or death within 90 days of the Covid-19 diagnosis. Another study published in August in the British Journal of Sports Medicine had similar findings. Regular exercise can reduce the risk of getting Covid and lower the risk of getting serious disease. Compared to their physically inactive peers, regular exercisers had an 11% lower risk of Covid infection and a 44% lower risk of serious disease, researchers found.
What We Don’t Know
If making healthy lifestyle changes during a Covid infection—as opposed to having maintained a healthy lifestyle before infection—could reduce the risk of developing long Covid or mitigate the symptoms associated with long Covid.
Crucial Quote
“With ongoing waves of Covid-19, long Covid has created a serious public health burden,” said Andrea Robers, a senior author of the study. “Our findings raise the possibility that adopting more healthy behaviors may reduce the risk of developing long Covid.”
Further Reading
Getting More Exercise—’The More Exercise The Better’—Cuts Risk Of Severe Covid, Study Finds (Forbes)
Regular Exercise Slashes Risk Of Covid, Study Suggests (Forbes)
Study Finds That Regular Physical Activity Enhances Vaccine Effectiveness Against Covid-19. (Forbes)
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