Nature Immunology: Iron deficiency may be cause of long-term COVID-19, study finds

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered that iron deficiency in the blood and its dysregulation level in the human body can be the cause of long-lasting COVID-19.

The results of their study were published in the journal Nature Immunology.

Post-covid syndrome, or prolonged COVID-19, are unpleasant pathological symptoms that occur after a coronavirus infection and persist for more than 12 weeks. Among them are fatigue, apathy, inability to concentrate, as well as a feeling of clouding of consciousness.

After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at the University of Cambridge began collecting people who tested positive for the virus for research. The participants had to provide the researchers with blood samples for a year to check the changes in it after the infection. A total of 214 people participated in the research, and about 45 percent of them reported prolonged COVID-19 within 3 to 10 months of recovery.

The study of the biomaterial of the participants showed that the low level of iron in the blood contributed to the occurrence of anemia and disturbed the production of healthy erythrocytes, red blood cells. In addition, during and after severe form of COVID-19, the dysregulation of iron level was more considerable.

Researchers have noted that when an infection occurs in the body, it reacts by removing iron from the bloodstream. It is a protective mechanism against potentially deadly bacteria that "occupy" iron in the bloodstream and multiply rapidly. When this process goes on for a long time, the deepening iron deficiency leads to the fact that oxygen reaches the body less efficiently. And the constant feeling of physical weakness, clouding of consciousness, and apathy is connected with this.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter