The Impact of Long COVID on the Quality of Life

• Published in: Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Lithuania), 2024-08, Vol.60 (8), p.1359
• Main Authors: Cozma, Angela, Sitar-Tăut, Adela-Viviana, Orășan, Olga Hilda, Leucuța, Daniel Corneliu, Pocol, Tinca-Codruța, Sălăgean, Octavia, Crișan, Camil, Sporiș, Nicolae-Dan, Lazar, Andrada-Luciana, Mălinescu, Toma-Vlad, Ganea, Andreea-Maria, Vlad, Călin Vasile, Horvat, Melinda, Lupșe, Mihaela Sorina, Briciu, Violeta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Blood pressure; Cardiac arrhythmia; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Cough - etiology; Cough - physiopathology; COVID-19 - complications; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 vaccines; Disease; Dyspnea; Fatigue; Fatigue - etiology; Female; Gender; Headache - etiology; Health aspects; Humans; Infection; Infections; Long COVID; Male; Middle Aged; omicron variant; Ovaries; Pain; Patients; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Romania - epidemiology; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tachycardia; Type 2 diabetes; Womens health
• ISSN: 1648-9144; 1010-660X; 1648-9144
• DOI: 10.3390/medicina60081359

: The term long COVID refers to patients with a history of confirmed COVID-19 infection, who present symptoms that last for at least 2 months and cannot be explained by another diagnosis. Objectives: The present study aims to determine the most common symptoms of the long COVID syndrome and their impact on the quality of life. : A prospective observational study was conducted on patients diagnosed with mild and moderate COVID-19 (based on a positive SARS-CoV-2 molecular diagnostic or rapid antigen test and severity form definition) at the Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Clinical examinations with detailed questions about symptoms were performed at the time of the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the six-month follow-up. Two years after COVID-19 infection, patients were invited to complete an online quality-of-life questionnaire regarding long COVID symptoms. : A total of 103 patients (35.92% males) with a mean age of 41.56 ± 11.77 were included in this study. Of the total number of patients, 65.04% presented mild forms of COVID-19. Data regarding the vaccination status showed that 83.5% were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. The most common symptoms at diagnosis were cough (80.6%), fatigue (80.4%), odynophagia (76.7%), and headaches (67.6%), with female patients being statistically more likely to experience it ( = 0.014). Patients with moderate forms of the disease had higher levels of both systolic ( = 0.008) and diastolic ( = 0.037) blood pressure at diagnosis, but no statistical difference was observed in the 6-month follow-up. The most common symptoms at 2 years (in 29 respondent subjects) were represented by asthenia (51.7%), headache (34.5%), memory disorders (27.6%), abdominal meteorism (27.6%), and arthralgia (27.6%). In terms of cardiovascular symptoms, fluctuating blood pressure values (20.7%), palpitations (17.2%), and increased heart rate values (17.2%) were recorded. : If at the time of diagnosis, the most frequent manifestations of the disease were respiratory, together with headache and fatigue, at re-evaluation, asthenia, decreased effort tolerance, and neuropsychiatric symptoms prevailed. Regarding the cardiovascular changes as part of the long COVID clinical picture, some patients developed prehypertension, palpitations, and tachycardia.