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. 2024 May 30:15:1394068.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1394068. eCollection 2024.

Effect of long COVID-19 syndrome on health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study

Arthur Nascimento Rodrigues  1 , Alna Carolina Mendes Paranhos  1 , Livia Caroline Machado da Silva  1 , Stanley Soares Xavier  1 , Camilla Costa Silva  1 , Rosilene da Silva  2 , Lidiane Assunção de Vasconcelos  1 , Ivonete Vieira Pereira Peixoto  1 , Tatiana Menezes Noronha Panzetti  1 , Priscila Rodrigues Tavares  1 , Cíntia de Sousa Reis  1 , Beatriz Freitas Launé  1 , Vera Regina da Cunha Menezes Palácios  1 , Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos  1 , Juarez Antônio Simões Quaresma  1   3   4 , Luiz Fábio Magno Falcão  1   3
Affiliations

Effect of long COVID-19 syndrome on health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study

Arthur Nascimento Rodrigues et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the association of anxiety, headache, and insomnia on the QoL of patients with long COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey between August 2020 and March 2023. A total of 200 participants were eligible, 53 were excluded and 147 patients with long COVID were included. QoL was evaluated across eight domains using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Standardized protocols including the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (n = 103), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (n = 73), and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) (n = 67) were also used.

Results: Participants with sleep disorders had significantly lower Vitality (p < 0.001). Participants with anxiety disorders had significantly lower Vitality (p = 0.001), poorer Mental Health (p = 0.008), and more severe Bodily Pain (p = 0.008). Participants with headache had significantly lower Vitality (p = 0.032), poorer Mental Health (p = 0.036), and poorer Physical Functioning (p = 0.016). Participants with both headache and anxiety had significantly lower Vitality (p = 0.005) and Mental Health (p = 0.043) domain scores. Correlation analysis revealed that higher scores for anxiety, sleep disorder, and headache were independently correlated with poorer QoL across various domains. The presence of sleep disorder was associated with a fourfold increase in risk of experiencing diminished Vitality (odds ratio [OR]4.47; 95% CI 1.01-19.69; p = 0.048).

Conclusion: Participants with anxiety, sleep, and headache disorders tended to have a worse QoL. The Vitality and Mental Health domains were the most adversely affected in patients with long COVID. Sleep disorders were associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of poor Vitality.

Keywords: anxiety; headache; post COVID-19 condition; quality of life; sleep quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

JQ is a member of the editorial board of Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of patients in this study. †Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the quality of life (QoL) in patients with long COVID (A) according to the presence of headache; (B) according to the severity of anxiety; and (C) according to the presence of sleep disorder.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Comparison of the Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS) score with patients headache and long COVID categorized by the domains of 36-Short Form Health Survey; (B) Comparison between median and 1st and 3rd quartile of SF-36 domains grouped by the combination between presence or absence of Headache and Anxiety of patients with long COVID. ⊥ Mann–Whitney Test (p < 0.05). * Kruskal–Wallis Test with post hoc Dunn’s test (p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Correlation analysis between the domains of the 36-Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) of patients with long COVID and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI); (B) Correlation analysis between the domains of the SF-36 of patients with long COVID and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); (C) Correlation analysis between the domains of the SF-36 of patients with long COVID-19 and Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS).
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