Relationship between COVID-19 consequences and subjective distress 6 months after hospitalization

ABSTRACT

The aim of this interdisciplinary study was to establish relationship between detailed lung function(LF) as well as cardiac measurements shortly after COVID-19 pneumonia and standardized psychological inventories assessing anxiety(GAD), fatigue(FAS), depression symptoms(BDI), quality of life(EQD-5D-5L) and life orientation(SOC-29). Material(s) and Method(s) Detailed LF and cardiac measurements were conducted up to 1 month after hospitalization in a group of 113 patients recovered from moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Standardized psychological inventories were administered 6 months after the hospitalization. Stepwise logistic regression, linear regression and clustering were employed to respectively find risk factors for psychological distress as well as reduced quality of life, and to group individuals by courses of illness. Result(s) Self-reported substantial fatigue was present in majority of the consecutive sample. Female sex, myocarditis, age, lower number of pack-years and low FVC observed shortly after termination of infection were risk factors for reporting substantial fatigue. Depression and anxiety levels signalising distress were only dependant on sex and pack-years of patients. Only sex turned out to be significant predictor of EQD score. SOC scores were comparatively low in the examined sample. Conclusion(s) For some individuals COVID-19 may result in prolonged fatigue. Considerable sex differences in standardized measurements concerning mental health and quality of life suggest differences in experiencing psychological distress between men and women after COVID-19, however based on objectified medical measures we argue that men may be underreporting some complications.