medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciencesMay 27, 2024

Genetic links to blood clots in long COVID among people of European background

Updated Jan 30, 2026

Abstract

Each unit increase in genetically predicted venous thromboembolism risk is associated with a 1.21-fold increase in the odds of long COVID.

A total of 3,018 individuals were analyzed for the association between thromboembolism-related genetic variants and long COVID.
The association between thromboembolism risk and long COVID was independent of the severity of acute COVID-19.
Results were consistent across various genetic analysis methods and replicated in external datasets.
Gene-specific analyses indicated that protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) may play a role in the development of long COVID.

Simplified

SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in long COVID, characterized by post-acute symptoms from multiple organs. Current hypotheses on mechanisms underlying long COVID include persistent inflammation and thromboembolism; however, compelling evidence from humans is limited and causal associations remain unclear. Here, we tested the association of thromboembolism-related genetic variants with long COVID in the Long COVID Host Genetics Initiative (=3,018;=994,582). Primary analyses revealed that each unit increase in the log-odds of genetically predicted venous thromboembolism risk was associated with 1.21-fold odds of long COVID (95%CI: 1.08-1.35;=1.2 × 10). This association was independent of acute COVID-19 severity, robust across genetic instruments and methods, and replicated in external datasets for both venous thromboembolism and long COVID. Downstream analyses using gene-specific instruments, along with protein and gene expression data, suggested the protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) as a potential molecular contributor to long COVID. These findings provide human genetic evidence implicating thromboembolism in long COVID pathogenesis. . n n P cases controls -3

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Genetic links to blood clots in long COVID among people of European background

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