Background Characterizing the post-COVID health conditions is helpful to direct patients to appropriate healthcare. Aims To describe the presence of symptoms in COVID-19 patients within 6 months after diagnosis and to investigate the associated factors in terms of reporting symptoms. Methods Data of DEU-COVIMER (a telephone interview-based COVID-19 follow-up center established in a tertiary care hospital) was analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive participants aged ≥ 18 years from November 1st, 2020, to May 31st, 2021. Symptom frequencies were stratified by demographic and clinical characteristics at one, three, and 6 months after diagnosis. With the patients who had symptoms at baseline, generalized estimating equations were applied to identify the factors associated with reporting of symptoms. Results A total of 5610 patients agreed to participate in the study. Symptom frequency was 37.2%, 21.8%, and 18.2% for the first, third, and sixth months. Tiredness/fatigue, muscle or body aches, and dyspnea/difficulty breathing were the most common symptoms in all time frames. In multivariate analysis, older age, female gender (odds ratio OR 1.74, 95% confidence interval 1.57–1.93), bad economic status (OR 1.37, 1.14–1.65), current smoking (OR 1.15, 1.02–1.29), being fully vaccinated before COVID-19 (OR 0.53, 0.40–0.72), having more health conditions (≥ 3 conditions, OR 1.78, 1.33–2.37), having more symptoms (> 5 symptoms, OR 2.47, 2.19–2.78), and hospitalization (intensive care unit, OR 2.18, 1.51–3.14) were associated with reporting of symptoms. Conclusions This study identifies risk factors for patients who experience post-COVID-19 symptoms. Healthcare providers should appropriately allocate resources prioritizing the patients who would benefit from post-COVID rehabilitation.

Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to occupational exposure. Strict measures generally focus on the patient-to-HCW contacts. However, interactions between the HCWs also pose a high risk for SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Aims This study was aimed to investigate the effect of social contacts on the level of SARS-CoV-2 exposure risk among workers by broadening the current risk assessment algorithm. Methods Contact tracing records of the workers in a large university hospital between 19th March and 31st December 2020 were analysed. Multivariate conditional logistic regression models were estimated to evaluate factors associated with high-risk exposure for contacts among workers. Results Of the 329 exposed clusters, 260 (79%) were HCW-to-HCW contacted clusters. High-risk exposure was higher in the HCW-to-HCW contacts (44%), when compared to the patient-to-HCW contacts (5%) (P < 0.001). A total of 1827 HCWs contacted a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-positive co-worker. Among the HCW-to-HCW contacts, high-risk exposure was higher in the support staff (49%, P < 0.001), in non-patient care settings (47%, P < 0.001) and in the social contacts (57%, P < 0.001). Social contacts between workers increased the high-risk exposure (adjusted odds ratio: 3.50, 95% confidence interval 2.62–4.69) in multivariate analysis. Conclusions A significant association between social contacts among workers and high-risk exposure of SARS-CoV-2 was observed. The results of the study emphasize the need for policies regarding the improved protection of HCWs in social settings in addition to patient care services.

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Backgrounds: It has been shown that COVID-19 can cause symptoms and diseases such as insomnia, depression, and anxiety. This study aimed to describe prevalence of feeling anxious or depressive among COVID-19 patients in six months of follow-up time and its association with baseline independent factors. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients aged ≥18 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Dokuz Eylul University Hospital, Turkey between November 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. Participants were interviewed by telephone calls on the 1st, 3rd and 6th months after diagnosis. The dependent variable of the study was self-reported moderate or severe anxiety or depression based on EQ-5D-3L general quality of life scale. Generalized estimating equations were used to identify the factors associated with feeling anxious and depressive after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: In total 5446 patients agreed to participate in the study. Frequency of feeling anxious or depressive at the 1st, 3rd and 6th months after diagnosis were 18.5%, 17.9% and 15.4%, respectively. Older age (≥65 years; odds ratio-OR:1.17, 95% confidence interval-CI: 0.95-1.44), female gender (OR:1.76 (1.58-1.96)), bad economic status (OR: 1.62 (1.34-1.97)), having more symptoms (4-5, OR:1.48 (1.21-1.81); ≥5, OR:1.65 (1.35-2.01)), having more underlying health conditions (1-2, OR:1.35 (1.19-1.54); ≥3: OR:1.50 (1.13-1.99)), intensive care unit admission (OR: 2.58 (1.70-3.90)) were associated with self-reported anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Feelings of anxiety and depression are common in COVID-19 patients and may persist in the long term. Anxiety and depression were associated with gender, economic status and disease severity. Determination of vulnerable groups for anxiety and depression after COVID-19 can be helpful for early diagnosis and initiation of mental care services.