A pulmonologist at The Queen’s University Medical Group has embarked on a study examining factors responsible for long COVID-19 in Hawaii.
Dr. Gehan P. Devendra, who works in pulmonary critical care medicine, is seeking about 200 participants for the three-year study, which examines the biology of long COVID with the goal of finding targeted treatment options.
“We really don’t know what causes long COVID,” Devendra said. “We see in my long COVID clinic, most of the patients are having shortness of breath or a chronic cough that won’t go away.”
Long COVID, or post-COVID-19 conditions, is defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having symptoms more than 30 days after an infection. It affects an estimated 1 out of every 5 patients.
Devendra says some of his patients have been suffering from post-COVID-19 conditions for months and were referred to him by primary care physicians after not getting any better.
In the latest CDC Pulse Survey in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, about 28% of all adults in the U.S. reported having had long COVID at some point, while about 6% are currently experiencing it.
Symptoms are wide- ranging, from fatigue that interferes with daily life to shortness of breath, cough, difficulty concentrating or thinking, which is often referred to as “brain fog,” sleep issues and depression or anxiety.
The CDC and its partners continue working to understand more about who experiences long COVID and why, including whether some groups are at higher risk. Since July 2021, long COVID has been recognized as a condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As part of the study, Devendra will examine what happens to monocytes, a type of white blood cell he says are active in the acute phases of long COVID.
The study — a joint effort between Queen’s and the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine — also is examining whether social determinants of health disparities within the state’s diverse population may affect the development of long COVID.
Stress can play a role in health outcomes, for instance, because it affects monocytes.
“Whether it’s income, housing insecurity or whether it be loneliness,” he said, “these are all types of stressors. These are all factors that can cause stress.”
The causes of long COVID are likely many faceted and complicated, he said, but he sees the examination of monocyte activation as a place to start.
Devendra is looking for patients with long COVID as well as those who have recovered and those who never had COVID-19.
Participation in “Factors Responsible for the Development of Pulmonary Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Hawaii” involves a series of questionnaires, along with blood draws and lung function tests over a three-year-period.
There is some compensation for registered participants.
If interested, contact the team at 808-978-0751 or email ppcovid@hawaii.edu.
