It’s been one year that we are daily hearing anything new about coronavirus. First, we heard about its effect on the respiratory system. After that scientific studies suggested that covid-19 can also cause bad gut health.
People infected with covid-19 tend to experience a wide range of symptoms and severities, the most common ones being high fevers and respiratory problems.
However, some studies reveal that the infection can also affect the liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies also suggest that poor gut health adversely affects covid-19 prognosis.
Studies have demonstrated that people with underlying medical conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity face a higher risk of severe covid-19. Risk also increases with age, with older adults most vulnerable to the most serious complications and the likelihood of hospitalization.
Both of these factors, advanced age, and chronic conditions have an association with bad gut microbiota. This imbalance can affect gut barrier integrity, this further allows pathogens and pathobionts easier access to cells in the intestinal lining.
The link between gut health and covid-19 prognosis hasn’t been empirically demonstrated, experts suggest that unhealthy gut microbiomes might be an underlying reason for why some people have such severe infections.
A study on symptomatic covid-19 patients, found that about half had a detectable level of the coronavirus in fecal tests but only about half of those experienced GI symptoms. That study suggests that even if SARS-CoV-2 reaches the GI tract, it may not cause problems.
Many recent studies have found reduced bacterial diversity in gut samples collected from covid-19 patients, compared to samples from healthy people.
Experts suggest that eating more fiber might lower a person’s risk of serious disease.
