Skip to main content

Long COVID Severity Linked to White Blood Cell Count

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 29, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 29, 2025 -- A simple blood test might determine which patients are at risk for long COVID, a new study says.

Higher levels of leukocytes – a form of white blood cell – are associated with more severe symptoms of long COVID among older women, researchers reported in a new study published Jan. 29 in the journal Menopause.

“Our findings suggest that leukocyte count, a well-standardized, stable, widely available, and inexpensive clinical marker of inflammation, is an independent predictor of future (long COVID) severity in postmenopausal women,” the research team led by Ted Ng, an assistant professor with the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, concluded.

For the study, researchers analyzed blood samples taken from more than 1,200 women who participated in a COVID study between June 2021 and February 2022.

More than a third (36%) of the women suffered from long COVID symptoms, including memory problems (13%), “brain fog” (12%), or confusion or difficulty thinking or concentrating (11%), results show.

Of those women, 75% had two or more long COVID symptoms, researchers added.

Women with higher leukocyte counts tended to have more of these symptoms, and their symptoms tended to be more severe, researchers found.

“These findings are consistent with evidence showing that elevated inflammatory markers during or after COVID-19 infection are associated with subsequent (long COVID) severity and (long COVID)-associated symptoms,” researchers wrote.

One theory of long COVID is that a person’s initial infection causes heavy inflammation that does long-term damage to tissues and organs, resulting in lasting symptoms, researchers noted.

However, these results also might mean that the women were suffering from low-level inflammation prior to their COVID infection, researchers said. That existing inflammation could have made the disease even worse.

Further study is needed to better tease out the connections between long COVID and inflammation, and to verify the link between white blood cell counts and long COVID risk, researchers said.

Long COVID “significantly affects quality of life, often leading to severe disability,” Dr. Monica Christmas, associate medical director for The Menopause Society, said in a news release.

“This effect is particularly pronounced in women, who already experience higher rates of cognitive impairment after menopause,” added Christmas, who was not involved in the initial study. “By understanding underlying factors, we can better address these challenges and work to mitigate the cascade of symptoms that follow.”

Sources

  • The Menopause Society, news release, Jan. 29, 2025

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

Further Support and Information on COVID-19

Read this next

Novavax COVID Vaccine Moves Closer to Full FDA Approval

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 — Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine could soon receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company said Wednesday. The...

Nearly Half of Americans Breathe Unhealthy Air, New Report Finds

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 — Breathing the air in nearly half of the United States could be putting the health of residents at risk. A new American Lung Association report...

Four-Gene Combo Might Predict Lethality Of Stomach Cancer

FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 — Four specific genes serve as a telltale clue to how potentially deadly stomach cancers will develop and progress, a new study says. Testing for...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.