Sex differences in sequelae from COVID-19 infection and in long COVID syndrome: a review

We conducted literature reviews to uncover differential effects of sex on sequelae from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and on long COVID syndrome.

Two authors independently searched OvidSP in Embase, Medline, Biosis, and Derwent Drug File. Publications reporting original, sex-disaggregated data for sequelae of COVID-19 (published before August 2020) and long COVID syndrome (published before June 2021) were included in the reviews. The association between COVID-19 sequelae (i.e. lasting 4 weeks after symptom onset) and sex, was determined by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) (statistical significance defined by 95% CI not including 1).