Background Understanding the impact of COVID 19 on patients’ quality of life (QOL) following discharge or recovery is essential for planning necessary interventions in advance. As such, this systematic review aimed to provide an overview of the QOL, and the factors associated with it in COVID-19 patients following discharge or recovery. Methods The Databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct were searched. The review included studies that (1) assessed the QOL of COVID 19 patients following discharge or recovery, (2) were written in English, (3) used a validated instrument to assess the quality of life and (4) used an observational or cohort study design. The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Following the initial search, 2866 articles were identified as being related. A total of 1089 articles were identified as duplicates. 1694 studies were excluded during the title and abstract screening stage, and 83 studies were screened at the full-text screening stage. Finally, 21 studies were included in this systematic review. Results This systematic review included 4408 patients who tested positive for COVID 19. Of them 50.2% (n = 2212) were males. Regardless of the time since discharge or recovery, COVID 19 patients’ QOL has been significantly impacted. Female sex, older age, co-morbidities, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, prolonged ICU stay, and being mechanically ventilated were the most frequently reported factors associated with the low level of QOL. Conclusion The QOL of the post COVID19 patients was significantly impacted, regardless of the time elapses since discharge or recovery. Thus, when implementing programs to improve the QOL of post COVID19 patients, the most affected domains of QOL and associated factors should be considered.

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Background: Smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. These risk factors can be easily changed or modified. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of behavioural risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and identify their correlates. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged between 30-60 years in Sabaragamuwa province, Sri Lanka. Three stage random sampling method was used to select the participants. WHO STEPS wise interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi square test was used to assess the associations between risk factors and their correlates. P value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 366 adults participated. Among males 28.4% and 34.3% were current smokers and alcohol users, respectively. Females neither smoked nor consumed alcohol. Only 16.9% of the participants met the WHO recommendations of fruit and vegetable consumption. Approximately two third were physically inactive (63.4%). Women were significantly physically inactive than men (p=<0.001). Men in younger age group smoked than men in older age group (p=0.012). Conclusion: Higher prevalence of behavioural risk factors reported in this study emphasizes the urgent need of adopting healthy lifestyle in this population.

Background: Hypertension is a major public health challenge in the world. It is an important predictor of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular accidents and death.Objectives: To describe the socio-demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and status of blood pressure control among hypertensive patients attending a medical clinic of a primary care hospital in Sri Lanka Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among hypertensive patients followed up at the medical clinic in Divisional Hospital Ganthuna, Kegalle, Sri Lanka. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio demographic, disease related and treatment related characteristics. Weight, height and blood pressure were measured. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS and findings were presented using descriptive statistics.Results: Among 173 hypertensive patients (rate of participation 92.5%) the majority were females (73.4%). Mean age of the participants was 64 years (SD = 10.8) and 61.8% of them were in the 58 to 77-year age group. More than three fourths of the hypertensive patients of this group (76.9%) had dyslipidaemia and 16.8% were diagnosed to have diabetes mellitus. Of all participants, 83.1% were on two or more antihypertensive drugs per day. Seventy eight percent of the participants had achieved the target blood pressure. Conclusion:Majority of the hypertensive patients had targeted blood pressure. The most frequently reported co-morbidity was dyslipidaemia followed by diabetes mellitus. Multi centric analytical studies with adequate numbers of patients are needed to explore the factors related to blood pressure control among hypertensive patients.

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