Dados do Trabalho

Título

Assessment of quality of life after mild COVID-19 infection

Resumo

Introduction: The incidence of post-COVID-19 sequelae is estimated between 10 and 35%. The COVID-19 infection affects people of all ages, generates a disease burden that can reduce work skills, cause social, psychological and neuropsychiatric challenges. These long‐term symptoms could cause a significant effect on the Post-COVID-19 quality of life.

Objectives: Evaluate the quality of life of patients after being affected by COVID-19, which domains are most prevalent in Short Form-36 (SF36) Scale and the presence of anxiety, depression, fatigue, chronic headache, chronic myalgia, ageusia and olfactory disorders after infection.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed in a cohort of 143 patients with COVID-19. These patients were regularly followed up from September 2020 to September 2021. Tests to screen for symptoms included the SF36 which range from 0 to 100, fatigue severity scale (FSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and yes and no questionnaires.

Results: Median age was 41 (interquartile range (IQR 29-50) years; 108 patients (75,5%) were female. In the assessment of quality of life by the SF-36, the domain most affected was the physical aspects, with an average of 41. Then, the domain's vitality and emotional aspects showed low performance, with an average of 45 each one. The best scored domain was the functional capacity, with an average of 67 points. More than a half of the sample reported cognitive impairment (55,9%) and a minority reported chronic headache (23.1%) and myalgia (11.2%). Just 35.7% complained of chronic fatigue, but 71.3% scored in the FSS with the presence of fatigue. Regarding screening for depression and anxiety, 40.6% and 52.5% scored positively, respectively.

Conclusions: The prevalence of fatigue, anxiety and reported cognitive impairment resulting from COVID-19 infection is high. The aspects of quality of life deserve attention which are observed in low scores in SF-36. More studies are needed, especially regarding the causes of impact quality of life and possible causes correlated.

Palavras Chave

COVID19; quality of life; fatigue