Quality of Life in Post-COVID-19 Patients after Hospitalization

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on people's quality of life (QoL), which is affected by social and economic changes as well as by mental and physical health. The aim of this study was to determine QoL in post-COVID-19 patients who had required hospitalization, and to identify relevant sociodemographic data. We used questionnaires which considered demographic and socioeconomic data, health and vaccination status, the pandemic situation, and EQ-5D scoring. The interactions of all data and the scores of EQ-5D were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to the five dimensions of EQ-5D. In this single-hospital-cohort study, the average times elapsed since initial diagnosis and hospital admission were 2.5 (76.3 ± 18.1 days) and 5 months (155.4 ± 33.9 days), respectively. Post-COVID-19 females were 3–5 times more likely to be affected in terms of anxiety/depression, and in negative impact upon their usual activities, at 5 months after diagnosis. At the same time, reductions in mobility were 3–4 times more likely in elderly post-COVID-19 patients, whose levels of pain and discomfort increased. Single patients, those with low incomes, and those with severe clinical outcomes were 2–4 times more likely to experience a reduction in their usual activities, while the presence of co-morbidities and lower levels of education were associated with increased pain and discomfort. Aging-induced pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were significantly exacerbated in elderly patients with widespread vaccination. Our study revealed effects of demographic and socioeconomic factors upon lower QoL in post-COVID-19 patients in four dimensions of EQ-5D: mobility, usual activity, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, 5 months after first diagnosis and hospitalization.

Fatigue in long-COVID; frequency, severity and impact on quality of life

“…There appears to be a heightened susceptibility of women to the enduring consequences of COVID-19. This susceptibility aligns with the observed lower immune response in women to milder forms of COVID-19 when compared to men, who tend to experience more severe clinical outcomes directly correlated with a robust immune response [28]. The term "quality of life" is elucidated as the 'subjective well-being' or 'the state of being satisfied with one's own life.'…”

Práticas Integrativas Complementares Na Melhora Da Qualidade De Vida Em Participantes Pós Covid-19

“…Considerando essas evidências e a possibilidade do uso das PICS, nota-se a importância da implementação dessas práticas em contextos de saúde [24,25], especialmente em épocas tão desgastantes como a vivenciada com a pandemia e em tempos pós pandemia, nas sequelas dos sobreviventes de COVID-19. A busca por diferentes estratégias que sejam capazes de amenizar os efeitos das mesmas são de fundamental importância, especialmente para melhora da QV e do estado emocional [22,23]. No entanto, muitos desafios se colocam no caminho quando se aborda as PICS seja aqueles relacionados aos entraves em virtude da escassez de publicações e pela influência de concepções enraizadas em relação à medicina alopática como a única forma de tratamento de doenças [10,24].…”

Factors associated with the quality of life and persistent dyspnea severity in COVID-19 survivors: A cross-sectional study among healthcare workers

“…Our study revealed that the majority of healthcare workers were women (86%). Some studies have reported that patients after COVID-19 infection develop a poorer QoL, women tend to experience frequent anxiety, and develop severe anxiety symptoms early after discharge [23][24][25]. Some studies have proposed mechanisms to explain the association between certain risk factors, one of which, the female gender has been postulated that hormones may have been involved in persisting the hyperinflammatory status of the COVID-19 acute phase even after recovery [26][27][28].…”