1. A prospective study on endocrine function in patients with long-COVID symptoms.
- Author
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Mourelatos P, Vrettou CS, Diamantopoulos A, Vassiliou AG, Jahaj E, Angelousi A, Pratikaki M, Katsaounou P, Kotanidou A, Vassiliadi DA, and Dimopoulou I
- Subjects
- Adult, Humans, Male, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Dehydroepiandrosterone, Fatigue, Hydrocortisone, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, Prospective Studies, RNA, Viral, SARS-CoV-2, Testosterone, Thyroid Hormones, Thyrotropin, Female, COVID-19, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate hormonal status in patients with long-COVID and explore the interrelationship between hormone levels and long-COVID symptoms., Design: Prospective observational study., Participants: Patients who visited our long-COVID outpatients' clinic due to long-COVID symptoms from February 2021 to December 2022., Measurements: Total triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, thyrotropin, thyroglobulin, anti-thyroperoxidase, and antithyroglobulin autoantibodies were measured for thyroid assessment. Other hormones measured were growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), serum cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), total testosterone, plasma insulin, and C-peptide. Blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin were also measured. To assess adrenal reserve, an ACTH stimulation test was performed. The fatigue assessment scale (FAS) was used to evaluate fatigue severity., Results: Eighty-four adult patients were included. Overall, 40.5% of the patients had at least one endocrine disorder. These included prediabetes (21.4%), low DHEA-S (21.4%), subclinical hypothyroidism (3.6%), non-specific thyroid function abnormality (7.1%), thyroid autoimmunity (7.1%), low testosterone in males (6.6%), and low IGF-1 (3.6%). All patients had normal adrenal reserve. Long-COVID-19 symptoms were present in all patients and the most commonly reported symptom was fatigue (89.3%). The FAS score was higher than normal (≥ 22) in 42.8% of patients. There were no associations between patients' symptoms and hormone levels. Diabetic patients reported confusion (p = 0.020) and hair loss (p = 0.040) more often than non-diabetics., Conclusions: The evaluation of endocrine function 3 months after a positive SARS-CoV2 test revealed only subclinical syndromes. The vast majority of patients reported mainly fatigue, among other symptoms, which were unrelated, however, to endocrine function., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Hellenic Endocrine Society.)
- Published
- 2024
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