Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered From COVID-19 Infection: A Survey From Pakistan

There remains scarcity of literature regarding the patient's health status post-COVID-19 infection. This study analyzes the prevalence of residual symptoms and quality of life (QoL) after COVID-19.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: COVID-19 Respiratory Infection; COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19 Lower Respiratory Infection
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered from COVID-19 Infection: A Survey from Pakistan

Detailed Description

An anonymous online survey was administrated in Pakistan from November 2020 to April 2021 in COVID-19 survivors. The questionnaire used the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) to assess mental and physical QoL. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore factors associated with mental and physical QoL scores.

A total of 331 COVID-19 survivors participated in our survey. Around 42.0% of the cohort reported within 1-3 months of diagnosis of COVID-19. The common residual symptoms were body aches (39.9%), low mood (32.6%), and cough (30.2%). Better physical QoL was associated with being male (adjusted beta: 3.328) and having no residual symptoms (6.955). However, suffering from nausea/vomiting during initial COVID-19 infection (-4.026), being admitted to the ICU during COVID-19 infection (-9.164), and suffering from residual body aches (-5.209) and low mood (-2.959) was associated with poorer QoL. Better mental QoL was associated with being asymptomatic during initial COVID-19 infection (6.149) and post-COVID (6.685), while experiencing low mood post-COVID was associated with poorer mental QoL (-8.253 [-10.914, -5.592]).

Despite presumed "recovery" from COVID-19, patients still face a wide range of residual symptoms months after initial infection, which contributes towards poorer QoL. Healthcare professionals must remain alert to the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 infection and aim to address them appropriately to improve patients' QoL.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 331

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Sindh
    • Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, 7480 0
      • Aga Khan University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A total of 331 individuals who responded to the online survey were included in the study. The majority were aged between 18-35 years (72.2%) and were residents of the province of Sindh (62.8%). Around half (54.1%) of the respondents were married, while 10.6% were separated or divorced. The highest level of education was reported as bachelors or lower by 45% of respondents. The common comorbidities were hypertension (9.4%), asthma (9.1%), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.3%).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Tested negative for COVID-19 when enrolled in the study
• COVID-19 negative for at least 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Still Positive for COVID-19 tested one week ago
• COVID-19 negative for less than 6 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Residual Symptoms and the Quality of Life in Individuals Recovered from COVID-19 Infection: A Survey from Pakistan	The questionnaire used the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) to assess mental and physical QoL. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore factors associated with mental and physical QoL scores.	November 2020 to April 2021

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Aga Khan University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rubaid A Dhillon, MBBS, Aga Khan University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): April 10, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 7, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 7, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 8, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 8, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 7, 2021
• Last Verified: December 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Quality of Life; COVID-19; Residual Symptoms
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; Disease Attributes; COVID-19; Infections; Communicable Diseases; Respiratory Tract Infections
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2021-5584-17843

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The anonymous data collected of participants will be not shared publicly, only limited information will be displayed in the study where necessary.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No