Long COVID Symptomatology and Associated Factors in Primary Care Patients: The EPICOVID-AP21 Study

Abstract

Persistent COVID-19 condition includes a wide variety of symptoms and health problems of indeterminate duration. The present study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the population with Long COVID seen in Primary Care using a questionnaire based on the existing scientific literature. It was an observational and descriptive study of the characteristics of the Spanish population with Long COVID over 14 years of age. The responses were analysed by means of a descriptive analysis of the variables recorded, in addition to a bivariate analysis to determine the existence of a relationship between persistent COVID-19 and variables such as gender, age, vaccination status or concomitant pathology. The results obtained clearly describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the population, highlighting the predominance of female gender and the prevalence of tiredness and fatigue. Furthermore, relevant information was obtained on the differences in symptomatology according to gender, age, previous pathologies and alterations derived from infection and/or vaccination. These data are important for better detection, diagnosis and treatment of Long COVID and the improvement of the quality of life of this population.

Clinical Characterization of the Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms: A Descriptive Observational Study in Primary Care

“…The overall mean age of subjects with persistent symptoms was 45.8 years, which is lower than described in studies conducted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10,28 and is close to the age reported by studies carried out in later stages of the pandemic. 3,21 This provides evidence of increased immunization of the population due to the administration of vaccines. Furthermore, our results are consistent with the idea that older individuals are more susceptible to experience persistent symptoms, 4 which is disagrees whit others authors, such as Romero et al, 21 that described a inverse relationships between symptom prevalence and age.…”

“…3,21 This provides evidence of increased immunization of the population due to the administration of vaccines. Furthermore, our results are consistent with the idea that older individuals are more susceptible to experience persistent symptoms, 4 which is disagrees whit others authors, such as Romero et al, 21 that described a inverse relationships between symptom prevalence and age. We consider that these differences may be due to data collection for the Romero study; It was compiled through an online questionnaire, which is a more accessible format for younger individuals while in our case, the data was recorded by face-to-face or by telephonic clinical interviews.…”

“…Of the individuals who showed persistent symptoms after 90 days of acute infection, representing 12.39% of the total, the symptoms most frequently reported were fatigue (41.88%), which is consistent with several studies COVID-19. 3,17,21 Dyspnea (32.46%), anosmia/dysgeusia (20.94%) and headache (14.66%) were the other symptoms that appeared more frequently. After 1 year of monitoring, these symptoms disappeared in approximately one-half of the cases.…”

“…In the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, numerous studies have reported the persistence of symptoms in COVID-19 patients. However, a limited number of these studies focused on non-hospitalized patients that indicate persistent COVID-19, 4,21 furthermore, the sample sizes studied have generally been small, and monitoring of patients has been short-term, in most cases. 6,7,14,22,23 Due to a significant number of individuals with COVID-19 do not require hospitalization and they receive ambulatory care, we consider it important quantify and characterize persistent COVID-19 in this population, to achieve a full understanding of the public health implications consequences of the pandemic.…”

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

“…Its prevalence in the acute phase of infection is estimated at more than 60% [3], even among patients who eventually do not develop long COVID syndrome [4]. 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].…”