Persistent Changes in Hormones and Growth Factors Involved in Ageing in Patients That Recovered from Severe COVID-19

TL;DR

This study finds that severe COVID-19 can lead to long-lasting changes in hormones and growth factors linked to aging, even after recovery.

Contribution

The study identifies specific hormones and growth factors that show persistent changes in severe COVID-19 survivors, potentially linking to long-term health effects.

Findings

Recovered severe COVID-19 patients had reduced levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 six and fifteen months post-recovery.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and platelet-derived growth factor levels remained low in patients fifteen months after recovery.

These persistent hormonal changes suggest a possible link to accelerated aging in severe COVID-19 survivors.

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic affected millions of people and its long-term impact on the health of survivors is under evaluation. Objectives: In this study, we hypothesized that severe coronavirus disease-19 could promote long-term changes in the blood levels of hormones and growth factors known to be involved in the regulation of ageing. Methods: We evaluated 49 patients that recovered from severe COVID-19 and compared them with matched controls that were never infected by the virus. The blood levels of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor, oxytocin, ghrelin, platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-1, and transforming growth factor-beta were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: After six months of recovery, patients presented reduced blood levels of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and platelet-derived growth factor. Fifteen months after, the reductions in the blood levels of all four hormones/growth factors persisted. Conclusions: Our study advances the field by identifying hormones and growth factors involved in ageing that undergo persistent changes in patients that recover from severe COVID-19. Further studies could explore the potential of the identified hormones/growth factors as therapeutic targets for the late complications and accelerated ageing that may affect patients recovering from severe COVID-19.

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