Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – revealed A new study shows that people who followed a healthy lifestyle before contracting “Covid-19” may be less likely to develop “long-term Covid” compared to others.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, looked at data on nearly 2,000 women who reported having contracted COVID-19 between April 2020 and November 2021.
The researchers looked at six modifiable lifestyle factors that they described as healthy:
BMI between 18.5 and 24.7,
never smoke,
moderate alcohol consumption,
high quality diet,
7 to 9 hours of sleep each night,
and at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week.
They found that a healthy lifestyle prior to infection with the coronavirus was associated with a lower risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms lasting four weeks or longer.
Women who met 5 or 6 of the healthy lifestyle criteria had about half the risk of developing long-term COVID-19 compared to women who did not meet any of the criteria.
“These associations were primarily driven by healthy body weight and adequate sleep,” the study authors wrote.
Women who led a healthier lifestyle and experienced “long Covid” had a 30% lower risk of symptoms that disrupt daily life.
The researchers speculated that the findings could be explained in part by the relationship between these lifestyle factors and chronic inflammation, immunity or blood-clotting problems.
However, they note that the study’s generalizability is limited as it only looked at middle-aged nurses, most of whom were white.
Other limitations include the use of self-reported data, and an insufficient understanding of the risks of long-term COVID-19 infection with different strains of the virus.
They pointed out that previous research has linked lifestyle factors with the risk of severe Covid-19 infection, hospitalization or death, in addition to disease and mortality in general.
In a statement, study lead author Siwen Wang, a research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said, “Over the past decades, scientists have accumulated evidence that a healthy lifestyle is beneficial to public health. However, in the United States, For example, 70% of the population is not at a healthy weight and 30% of them do not sleep enough.
And she continued: “The findings from this study indicate that simple lifestyle changes, such as getting enough sleep, may be beneficial for preventing long-term Covid.”