Researchers have identified iron deficiency as a critical component in the prolonged recovery from COVID-19.
In a recent publication in Nature Immunology, scientists from the University of Cambridge showed that low iron levels play a crucial role in the development of symptoms after COVID-19.
The results imply that low iron levels hinder the production of healthy red blood cells soon after acquiring COVID-19, in addition to exacerbating inflammation and anemia.
Persistent COVID Symptoms
Study's co-author Hal Drakesmith said that the immune system's response to an infection is to lower iron levels in the blood.
He added, "This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It's an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert," the New York Post reported.
There was an immediate and clear association between patients' reduced iron levels and an increase in health problems after just two weeks of diagnosis.
Following treatment, some patients developed long-term COVID symptoms, a syndrome now associated with cognitive decline and symptoms like brain fog that lead to a significant drop in IQ.
According to Dr. Aimee Hanson, the body was making an effort to address low iron availability and the subsequent anemia by increasing red blood cell production. However, this response was hindered by chronic inflammation.
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Chronic Iron Deficiency
The University of Cambridge thinks that over 30% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 might be vulnerable to protracted COVID, as reported by The Washington Times. At the same time, about 3 million Americans need iron deficiency or anemia therapy every year, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Drakesmith stressed the gravity of chronic iron deficiency by saying that when this continues for an extended period of time, the body's iron levels get depleted, and oxygen is less efficiently carried around. Not only does it affect oxygen flow, but it also has a major influence on metabolism and energy levels.
Early on during a COVID infection, the body's iron levels and iron regulation mechanisms were disturbed, and it took a very long time for these systems to recover, especially in those who went on to experience prolonged COVID months later, as Hanson explained.
She added: "It isn't necessarily the case that individuals don't have enough iron in their body, it's just that it's trapped in the wrong place. What we need is a way to remobilize the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful to the red blood cells."
