ABSTRACT
Background: Many studies have shown a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in COVID-19 patients and the general population. However, very few studies directly examined the potential impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and none compared HRQoL in COVID-19 patients to the general population amid the pandemic. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study comparing HRQoL (as measured using the RAND Short Form 36 or SF-36 Health Survey) in randomly selected individuals from three different groups: hospitalized COVID-19 patients, quarantined COVID-19 patients, and controls from the general population in Qatar. We constructed a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) to compare the SF-36 scores between the three groups and control for various covariates. Results: Our sample consisted of 141 COVID-19 inpatients, 99 COVID-19 quarantined patients, and 285 healthy controls. Surprisingly, we found that HRQoL was higher in COVID-19 hospitalized than in COVID-19 non-hospitalized patients than in controls. The main components where COVID-patients scored higher than controls were physical functioning and role limitations due to emotional problems. In COVID-19 patients, the female gender, older age, and past psychiatric history were associated with lower HRQoL. Conclusions: It seems that COVID-19 patient's HRQoL might be better than expected. Our results can be explained by social support from family and friends, easy access to mental health screening and care, and a possible change of perspectives after recovery from COVID-19, resulting in psychological growth and enhanced resilience.