@article{uninipr4912,
          volume = {19},
          author = {Juan Sebastian Izquierdo Condoy and Raul Fernandez-Naranjo and Eduardo Vasconez-Gonz{\'a}lez and Simone Cordovez and Andrea Tello-De-la-Torre and Clara Paz and Karen Delgado-Moreira and Sarah Carrington and Gin{\'e}s Viscor and Esteban Ortiz-Prado},
         journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health},
            year = {2022},
           title = {Long COVID at Different Altitudes: A Countrywide Epidemiological Analysis},
           pages = {14673},
          number = {22},
        keywords = {COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; long-COVID; sequalae; symptoms; Latin America; high altitude},
        abstract = {Background: Several reports from around the world have reported that some patients who have recovered from COVID-19 have experienced a range of persistent or new clinical symptoms after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. These symptoms can last from weeks to months, impacting everyday functioning to a significant number of patients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis based on an online, self-reporting questionnaire was conducted in Ecuador from April to July 2022. Participants were invited by social media, radio, and TV to voluntarily participate in our study. A total of 2103 surveys were included in this study. We compared socio-demographic variables and long-term persisting symptoms at low ({\ensuremath{<}}2500 m) and high altitude ({\ensuremath{>}}2500 m). Results: Overall, 1100 (52.3\%) responders claimed to have Long-COVID symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most of these were reported by women (64.0\%); the most affected group was young adults between 21 to 40 years (68.5\%), and most long-haulers were mestizos (91.6\%). We found that high altitude residents were more likely to report persisting symptoms (71.7\%) versus those living at lower altitudes (29.3\%). The most common symptoms were fatigue or tiredness (8.4\%), hair loss (5.1\%) and difficulty concentrating (5.0\%). The highest proportion of symptoms was observed in the group that received less than 2 doses. Conclusions: This is the first study describing post-COVID symptoms? persistence in low and high-altitude residents. Our findings demonstrate that women, especially those aging between 21?40, are more likely to describe Long-COVID. We also found that living at a high altitude was associated with higher reports of mood changes, tachycardia, decreased libido, insomnia, and palpitations compared to lowlanders. Finally, we found a greater risk to report Long-COVID symptoms among women, those with previous comorbidities and those who had a severer acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.},
             url = {http://repositorio.unib.org/id/eprint/4912/}
}