GENDER AND AGE CHARACTERISTICS OF COVID-19 SYMPTOMATOLOGY

Abstract

Purpose: to determine the features of the symptomatology of coronavirus infection depending on gender and age criteria. Material. The study involved 103 people who were inpatient treatment at the «4th city clinical hospital», Minsk. All patients were diagnosed with ««Coronavirus infection» by the polymerase chain reaction method. Results. General symptoms of COVID-19 were detected in all examined patients, otorhinolaryngological manifestations - in 77.7% of the respondents, impaired odor perception was detected in 46.6%, impaired taste perception - in 37.9%. Revealed a pattern in the manifestations of COVID-19 among men and women. General complaints were either more often reported by men, or the frequency of complaints did not depend on gender. Local manifestations of the disease (complaints about the state of the gastrointestinal tract, ENT organs, impaired perception of smell and taste) more often worried women. The age aspect also influenced the symptomatology of COVID-19 infection: from the stage of young age (18-44 years) to the stage of middle age (45-59 years) for most of the symptoms of the disease, an increase in the detection rate was revealed. From the stage of middle age (45-59 years) to the stage of advanced age (60-74 years), 14 symptoms of the disease showed a decrease in their detection frequency. From the stage of advanced age (60-74 years) to the stage of senile age (75-90 years), 10 symptoms of the disease showed an increase in their detection frequency, and 5 - a decrease. For such symptoms as impaired sense of smell, impaired taste, wet cough, the differences in the frequency of detection in age groups were statistically significant. Conclusion. The symptomatology of COVID-19 differs significantly depending on the sex and age of the patients.