ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 patients may experience lon-lasting symptoms from weeks to even months. Aim: To evaluate long-term cognitive impairment based on the severity of symptoms of COVID-19 infection in a primary health system setting. Material and methods: From a database of 363 patients, 83 cases aged 47 +or- 15 years, (58% females) were selected from June to August 2020. In patients who survived the virus, 24 infection-related symptoms were collected to create three severity clusters (mild, moderate, and severe). The follow-up time was at least seven months. Comparing the first two clusters with the severe cluster, the existence of brain fog and risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and hypothyroidism) were analyzed. Results: Thirty-one patients (37%) had persistent symptoms lasting up to 240 days. Fifty-one patients (61%) experienced brain fog. Concentration was affected by symptom severity (odds ratio [OR] 3.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-10.46, p = 0.02). Short- or long-term memory loss was not affected. Moreover, symptom severity was related to brain fog (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.05-9.51, p = 0.04). Patients with persistent symptoms had a concentration impairment associated with severity patterns (OR 24.3, 95% CI 1.73-340.11, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Brain fog is associated with symptom severity in COVID-19 survivors and lasts for more than eight months.
ABSTRACT
Background With the surge of COVID-19 cases worldwide, vaccines against COVID-19 are also developing across the countries. However, the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among general people is questionable. The availability of several vaccines’ options against COVID-19 has perplexed people regarding individual vaccines’ efficacy and safety. Therefore, we aim to determine the acceptance, preferences, impact factors of future COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia and the factors influencing the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among vaccine demand and vaccine delay groups. Material and methods An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among Malaysian residents 18 years and above of either gender using the snowball sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was made available to participants through various social media networks, email, and telegram. The data obtained from the survey were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Association between background characteristics and respondents were analyzed using the Chi-square test in the vaccine delay group and vaccine acceptance group. Results Total of 1282 responses were considered for the study, mainly from male respondents (71%). Among the respondents, 95.9% thought that vaccination would be an effective way to prevent and control COVID-19, and 96% would accept vaccination if the COVID-19 vaccine were successfully developed and approved for listing in the future. Essential factors influencing vaccination decisions were vaccine convenience (95.7%) and doctor's recommendation (97.3%). Bivariate analysis revealed that age less than 24 years, Malay race, living in urban areas, tertiary education, students, single marital status, family income (Malaysian ringgits) RM 4,850 to RM 10,959 and >RM 10,960 were significantly associated with vaccine acceptance of COVID19 vaccination. Conclusion All the factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates throughout the country should be studied on a larger scale, and appropriate steps to ensure vaccine acceptance among the public should be meticulously devised by the government and related authorities.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 outbreaks are spreading rapidly across the world and has raised global public health concerns for all countries around the world. This study aims to evaluate the impact of loekdowns/shutdowns on the medical students from different fields to assess the prevalence of developing symptoms without any previous possible contact with an infected person. This is to understand how mental illnesses like anxiety, depression and stress play their role in this psychosomatic effect. METHODS: In this study we adopted a cross-sectional survey design included all the medical students in the EMR region except those who were infected were excluded from the study. The structured questionnaires were designed to cover several areas of mental health status using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21). We used the 21 version of the statistical program SPSS for data entry and analysis. RESULTS: Our study findings revealed that the scores of depression, anxiety and stress were 7.78, 6.08 and 8.58 among participants respectively. The majority of our sample were from Iraq and 88% of them were medical students. There were statistically significant differences between the scores of the DASS-21 and the symptoms of COVID-19 that were experienced by the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: According to our study we found that the scores of depression, anxiety and stress were 7.78, 6.08 and 8.58 respectively. The scores have been influenced by many factors mainly the gender. The symptoms that the respondents experienced during the quarantine time were headache, myalgia and breathing difficulties.
ABSTRACT
Background: With the surge of COVID-19 cases worldwide, vaccines against COVID-19 are also developing across the countries. However, the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among general people is questionable. The availability of several vaccines' options against COVID-19 has perplexed people regarding individual vaccines' efficacy and safety. Therefore, we aim to determine the acceptance, preferences, impact factors of future COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia and the factors influencing the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among vaccine demand and vaccine delay groups. Material and methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among Malaysian residents 18 years and above of either gender using the snowball sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was made available to participants through various social media networks, email, and telegram. The data obtained from the survey were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Association between background characteristics and respondents were analyzed using the Chi-square test in the vaccine delay group and vaccine acceptance group. Results: Total of 1282 responses were considered for the study, mainly from male respondents (71%). Among the respondents, 95.9% thought that vaccination would be an effective way to prevent and control COVID-19, and 96% would accept vaccination if the COVID-19 vaccine were successfully developed and approved for listing in the future. Essential factors influencing vaccination decisions were vaccine convenience (95.7%) and doctor's recommendation (97.3%). Bivariate analysis revealed that age less than 24 years, Malay race, living in urban areas, tertiary education, students, single marital status, family income (Malaysian ringgits) RM 4,850 to RM 10,959 and >RM 10,960 were significantly associated with vaccine acceptance of COVID19 vaccination. Conclusion: All the factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates throughout the country should be studied on a larger scale, and appropriate steps to ensure vaccine acceptance among the public should be meticulously devised by the government and related authorities.
Antecedentes: Con el aumento de casos de COVID-19 en todo el mundo, las vacunas contra la COVID-19 también están en desarrollo en todos los países. Sin embargo, la aceptabilidad de la vacuna COVID-19 entre la gente en general es cuestionable. La disponibilidad de varias opciones de vacunas contra COVID-19 ha dejado perpleja a la gente con respecto a la eficacia y seguridad de las vacunas individuales. Por lo tanto, tenemos como objetivo determinar la aceptación, las preferencias y los factores de impacto de las futuras vacunas COVID-19 en Malasia y los factores que influyen en la aceptación de la vacunación COVID-19 entre la demanda de vacunas y los grupos de demora de la vacuna. Material y métodos: Se realizó una encuesta transversal en línea entre residentes de Malasia de 18 años o más de cualquier género utilizando la técnica de muestreo de bola de nieve. Se puso a disposición de los participantes un cuestionario autoadministrado a través de varias redes sociales, correo electrónico y telegrama. Los datos obtenidos de la encuesta se analizaron con el programa SPSS versión 25.0. La asociación entre las características de fondo y los encuestados fueron analizados usando la prueba de χ2 en el grupo de demora de la vacuna y el grupo de aceptación de la vacuna. Resultados: Se consideró un total de 1.282 respuestas para el estudio, principalmente de hombres encuestados (71%). Entre los encuestados, el 95,9% pensó que la vacunación sería una forma eficaz de prevenir y controlar la COVID-19, y el 96% aceptaría la vacunación si la vacuna COVID-19 se desarrollara con éxito y se aprobara para su inclusión en el futuro. Factores esenciales que influyeron en las decisiones de vacunación fueron la conveniencia de la vacuna (95,7%) y la recomendación del médico (97,3%). El análisis bivariado reveló que la edad < 24 años, la raza malaya, la vida en áreas urbanas, educación terciaria, estudiantes, estado civil soltero, ingresos familiares RM 4,850 a RM 10,959 y > RM 10,960 (en ringgits, moneda malaya), se asociaron significativamente con la aceptación de la vacuna COVID-19. Conclusión: Todos los factores que influyen en las tasas de aceptación de la vacuna COVID-19 en todo el país deben estudiarse a mayor escala, y el gobierno y las autoridades relacionadas deben diseñar meticulosamente los pasos apropiados para asegurar la aceptación de la vacuna entre el público.