Impact of preexisting digestive problems on the gastrointestinal symptoms of patients with omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 infection

by Xinghuang Liu, Bayasgalan Luvsandagva, Dongke Wang, Siran Zhu, Zhiyue Xu, Dan Zhou, Xiaotian Xie, Wei Qian, Xiaohua Hou, Tao Bai

This study focused on the gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in the omicron variant infection and the related factors based on digestive health.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals infected with the omicron variant. A structured questionnaire was developed to gather their demographic characteristics, preexisting digestive problems (diseases & symptoms), and clinical manifestations during the infection.

11,484 questionnaires were received from online platforms. 7,929 infected participants were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among them, 4,225 (53.3%) were females, and the mean age was 36.0±8.8 years old. In general, the proportion of GI symptoms in the omicron variant infection was 31.4% (62.6% and 25.0% in participants with pre-existing digestive problems and those without, respectively). The participants with pre-existing digestive problems exhibited more severe clinical manifestations during infection compared to those without. Notably, participants with gastrointestinal symptoms during the infection had more severe clinical manifestations, regardless of basic digestive health. Upper, rather than lower GI symptoms were more closely associated with the severity of the clinical manifestations. NSAIDs may increase the occurrence of GI symptoms in participants with a healthy digestive system but not in those with preexisting digestive problems.

Patients infected with the omicron variant may experience more severe clinical symptoms if they have gastrointestinal issues. Digestive health strongly influences the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms and the severity of clinical manifestations.