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. 2024 Mar 4;7(3):e240869.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0869.

Self-Reported Everyday Functioning After COVID-19 Infection

Theodore J Iwashyna  1   2   3   4 , Valerie A Smith  5   6   7 , Sarah Seelye  1 , Amy S B Bohnert  1   8 , Edward J Boyko  9   10 , Denise M Hynes  11   12   13 , George N Ioannou  10   14 , Matthew L Maciejewski  5   6   13 , Ann M O'Hare  10   14 , Elizabeth M Viglianti  1   2 , Theodore S Berkowitz  5 , John Pura  5 , James Womer  3 , Lee A Kamphuis  1 , Max L Monahan  1   3 , C Barrett Bowling  5   15   6 ; VA HSR&D COVID-19 Observational Research Collaboratory (CORC)
Collaborators, Affiliations

Self-Reported Everyday Functioning After COVID-19 Infection

Theodore J Iwashyna et al. JAMA Netw Open. .

Abstract

Importance: Changes in everyday functioning are crucial to assessing the long-term impact of COVID-19 infection.

Objective: To examine the impact of COVID-19 infection on everyday functioning 18 months after infection among veterans with and without histories of COVID-19 infection.

Design, setting, and participants: This cohort study used data from the US Veterans Affairs (VA) and included 186 veterans who had COVID-19 between October 2020 and April 2021 (ie, COVID-19 cohort) and 186 matched comparators who did not have documented COVID-19 infections (ie, control cohort). This match balanced the risk of COVID-19 based on 39 variables measured in the 24 months before infection or match, using principles of target trial emulation. Data were analyzed from December 2022 to December 2023.

Exposure: First documented COVID-19.

Main outcome and measures: The differences in self-reported everyday functioning 18 months after COVID-19 infection were estimated and compared with their matched comparators. Within-matched pair logistic and linear regressions assessed differences in outcomes and were weighted to account for sampling and nonresponse.

Results: Among the 186 matched pairs of participants, their weighted mean age was 60.4 (95% CI, 57.5 to 63.2) years among veterans in the COVID-19 cohort (weighted sample, 91 459 of 101 133 [90.4%] male; 30 611 [30.3%] Black or African American veterans; 65 196 [64.4%] White veterans) and 61.1 (95% CI, 57.8 to 64.4) years among their comparators in the control cohort (91 459 [90.4%] male; 24 576 [24.3%] Black or African American veterans; 70 157 [69.4%] White veterans). A high proportion of veterans in the COVID-19 cohort (weighted percentage, 44.9% [95% CI, 34.2% to 56.2%]) reported that they could do less than what they felt they could do at the beginning of 2020 compared with the control cohort (weighted percentage, 35.3%; [95% CI, 25.6% to 46.4%]; within-matched pair adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.52 [95% CI, 0.79 to 2.91]). There was no association of documented COVID-19 infection with fatigue, substantial pain, limitations in either activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, severely curtailed life-space mobility, employment, or mean health-related quality of life on a utility scale.

Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of veterans with and without documented COVID-19, many reported a substantial loss of everyday functioning during the pandemic regardless of whether or not they had a documented infection with COVID-19. Future work with larger samples is needed to validate the estimated associations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Seelye reported receiving grants from the Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development (VA HSRD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality outside the submitted work. Dr Hynes reported receiving grants from the VA HSRD, Pacific Source Community Services, and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, receiving personal fees from Quality Insights, and being a co-owner of van Breemen and Hynes consulting firm outside the submitted work. Dr Maciejewski reported owning Amgen stock outside the submitted work. Dr O’Hare reported receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health and support from the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California, American Society of Nephrology, University of Colorado, and Dialysis Clinics outside the submitted work. Dr Viglianti reported receiving grants from the NIH during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Distributions of Self-Reported Limitations in Activities and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Answers Regarding Physical and Mental Ability Since 2020
Weighted results are presented.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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