Association between long COVID, functional activity, and health-related quality of life in older adults

Abstract

Background Older adults experience persistent symptoms post-COVID-19, termed as Long COVID, affecting their physical and mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Long COVID, level of physical activity, and functional decline on older adults’ health-related quality of life post-COVID-19. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 121 older adults with 60 to 90 years old post-coronavirus infection. The standardized metrics used in the study were Fatigue Severity Scale, Physical Activity Elderly, SF12, Post-COVID-19 functional status scale, and COVID-19 Yorkshire rehabilitation screening scale. The severity of coronavirus infection was evaluated by changes in chest CT scan images and O2 saturation at hospital admission. Data were analyzed using linear regression analyses. Results The results of regression analysis revealed six factors to be predictors of physical health at 6 months post-COVID-19 (F = 9.046, P < 0.001; explained variance 63%), which the significant factors were fatigue, level of physical activity, worsened pain, difficulties in activities of daily living and cognitive-communication problems. Among these factors, greater fatigue and worsened pain intensity were the strongest predictors. Mental health was associated with days of hospitalization and cognitive-communication problems (F = 2.866, P < 0.001; explained variance 35%). Conclusions Considering the negative impact of fatigue, pain, low physical activity, and cognitive-communication problems on health-related quality of life, early and accurate evaluation and management are required for recovered older adults post-COVID-19.

Impact of Long COVID on Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients After Acute COVID-19 Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Some studies have shown that older adults have more severe long-COVID symptoms owing to the presence of underlying medical conditions and lower levels of physical activity. 27 , 28 …”

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Greek version of post-COVID-19 Functional Status Scale: assessment of non-hospitalised post-COVID-19 survivors

“…28 , 29 Long COVID is defined as persistent symptoms experienced in recovered patients from COVID-19 causing substantial disease burden. 30 In addition, patients with COVID-19 admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) may have functional impairments; requiring treatment to fix the disability. Functional limitations must be assessed and multidisciplinary interventions must be designed in order to minimize disabilities and improve functional independence in patients recovering from COVID-19.…”

Course of fatigue among patients previously hospitalised due to COVID-19

“…As shown recently, irrespective of initial improvement, most individuals with a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection will suffer from fatigue within three months following the onset of disease [5]. This non-specific group of symptoms is more often reported by patients with COVID-19 compared to other viral respiratory infections [6], and its presence significantly deteriorates the perceived quality of life and impairs both leisure activities and work performance [7][8][9][10]. It is also noteworthy that post-COVID symptoms, including fatigue, result in a significant burden of healthcare costs, as was recently revealed in a detailed analysis of nearly 30,000 people from the German Nationwide Inpatient Data [11].…”