COVID-19 Pandemic
Autoimmune Disease and Long Covid Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women from the Women’s Health Initiative Patrick Montine* Patrick Montine Danielle J Harvey Shawna Follis Monica Daniela Zuercher John Robbins Christian Sandrock Richard H White Lorena Garcia
Abstract: We analyzed the cross-sectional association between pre-existing autoimmune diseases (AID), specifically rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and the manifestation of Post-COVID Conditions (PCC) symptoms among postmenopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative. Postmenopausal women, having undergone an endocrinologic transition marked by decreasing estrogen levels, are susceptible to the development of AID. The paper aims to assess whether a history of AID is linked to PCC, employing the WHO PCC definition, among postmenopausal women with COVID-19. Participants who tested negative for COVID-19 and those who developed AID after December 31, 2019 were excluded. AID history was evaluated using unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models, controlling for age, race and other confounders. Among 37,289 participants responding to COVID-19 Survey 2, 1237 reported positive COVID-19 results with 413 (33%) participants having PCC. The participants who reported positive COVID-19 predominantly comprising White (90%), Non-Hispanic (96%) individuals residing in urban areas (90%), with a median age of 83.79 ± 5.52. Preliminary results indicate a significant association between SLE (OR 3.13, 95% CI: 1.41-6.96, P < .01) and RA (OR 1.54, 95% CI: 1.03-2.29, P = .03) with PCC. Our findings suggest that postmenopausal women with pre-existing AID may be more predisposed to PCC, offering valuable insights for a deeper understanding of PCC mechanisms.