Impairments following COVID-19 infection: manifestations and investigations of related factors

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major global impact on the health and wellbeing for many individuals. Even though the infection rates have gone down due to the availability of vaccines, the consequences of the disease are still present due to persistent symptoms among individuals. The aim of the current study was to map long‐term impairments in individuals infected with COVID-19 by applying the framework of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and also investigate the factors related to the context of an individual’s life influencing the impairments. A web-survey that targeted individuals that had been infected with COVID-19 was used. The survey included a range of measures covering contextual factors and factors related to body functions and structures and post-COVID impairments. A total of 501 individuals were included in the study (with a mean age of 47.6 years). 96% of the respondents reported at least one moderate-to-severe impairment due to COVID-19 infection and the most frequent one was fatigue. In that, 79.6% and 86.9% of the study sample reported moderate-to-severe brain fatigue and tiredness or lack of energy, respectively. Severity of COVID-19 infection appeared as the strongest risk factor for post-COVID impairments. Based on the results, interventions can be tailored to help individuals with post-COVID-19 condition. This could be one way lessening the effect of COVID-19 on health care and society as a whole.

Trajectories of mental health outcomes following COVID-19 infection: a prospective longitudinal study

“…The third possible explanation for these ndings is sustained recovery of COVID-19-related persistent symptoms over time. A substantial proportion of individuals infected with COVID-19 reports experiencing at least one moderate-to-severe impairment due to COVID-19 infection, with fatigue being the most commonly reported symptom [17,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60]. Furthermore, our previous cross-sectional study revealed that post-COVID impairments and fatigue emerged as signi cant predictors of mental ill-health in individuals who were infected with COVID-19 infection [10].…”

“…The initial increase in insomnia could be attributed to the physiological and psychological effects of the acute phase of COVID-19 infection and the side effects of COVID-19-related medications which disrupted sleep quality and quantity during the early stages of recovery and increased the risk of developing chronic insomnia later after recovery [54,66,67,68]. Second, sleep-related problems were reported as one of the most common remaining symptoms experienced after recovering from COVID-19 [17,48] Additionally, it has been shown to contribute to higher levels of mental ill-health following COVID-19 infection [10]. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that individuals who experienced severe COVID-19 infection in the acute phase continue to be at risk for mental ill-health.…”

“…Time of rst infection was measured by a single item in which respondents stated date of rst infection (year and month). The variable was dichotomized into during the year 2020 versus during the year 2021 and 2022, in line with our previous study that revealed that individuals who were infected for the rst time during the rst and second pandemic waves in Sweden (the spring and autumn of 2020) experienced more COVID-19 related problems [17]. Hospitalization for COVID-19 was measured using a single item in which respondents stated on a binary question if they had been hospitalized because of COVID-19 (yes/no).…”

“…Post-covid impairments were measured using a scale consisting of 54 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = no, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe), developed and used in our previous studies [10,17].…”

“…Follow-up studies on COVID-19 survivors highlighted the associations between mental illhealth and post-COVID complications [10,16]. Long term impacts after COVID-19-infection include multisystemic problems, disabilities, and mental health problems, of which fatigue has emerged as the most reported symptom [17,18,19]. As many as almost half of all who have a history of probable or con rmed COVID 19-infection experience symptoms after recovery from infection [18], and about 40% of COVID-19 survivors experience fatigue three months after infection, with anxiety, depression and psychiatric comorbidity generating elevated risk [20].…”