Research by the CSS Biobank into the post-illness metabolic profiles of 4,787 volunteers has been published online. We looked at the full spectrum of COVID-19, from people who had asymptomatic COVID-19 to those who had post-COVID Syndrome (symptoms for more than 12 weeks). We also looked at the metabolic profiles of participants who reported ongoing symptoms like COVID-19 – such as a cough, headache, and fatigue – but who were found to have negative antibodies for the virus.
Our results show that participants who had higher levels of harmful fats commonly linked to heart disease were more likely to experience ongoing symptoms from both COVID-19 and non-COVID disease. That is, both people with longer illness, regardless of whether they had COVID-19, both had a set of compounds in their blood commonly seen in patients who are at risk of heart disease and diabetes. We found no association between illness duration and the gut microbiome.
These findings suggest that treatments for other diseases could inform new ways to treat COVID-19.