To reach these findings, researchers monitored 214 adults who tested positive for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
Of the 214 people monitored, 45% went on to exhibit some long COVID symptoms.
The individuals in groups three to five, however, were more likely to report long COVID symptoms.
They were also more likely to have inflammation and low iron levels months later.
“Inflammatory anemia4” is known to present in patients with diseases that cause prolonged immune activation.
This evidence suggests that iron may be associated with long COVID, especially for severe cases.
This offers a possible focus area for preventing long COVID symptoms by addressing iron at the initial disease onset.
