Post COVID-19 Symptoms and their Associations: A Cross-Sectional Study at One Month After Acute COVID-19 Infection

Introduction: Post-COVID-19 symptoms have been identified among a considerable proportion of individuals following acute COVID-19. This study cross-sectionally analyzed the post-COVID-19 symptoms of confirmed COVID-19 patients, between April – September 2021 who visited the post-COVID clinic, Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Methods: Patients’ clinical course of COVID-19 was classified as mild, moderate, and severe based on the peripheral oxygen saturation. Chi-square tests were performed to test the differences in the prevalence of persistent symptoms, and logistic regression to investigate the association between persistent symptoms and the variables examined.
Results: The sample comprised 212 patients (55.17% females) with a mean age of 52.8 (SD±14.75) years. At baseline, 74.40%, 16.91%, and 8.70%, respectively, had mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. One month after acute COVID-19, 98.11% of patients still had at least one persistent symptom with fatigue (65.57%), dyspnoea when climbing stairs (61.79%), and dyspnoea when walking a short distance (56.13%) being the most common. Females were more likely to develop persistent feverishness (aOR = 9.01; 95%CI: 1.13-71.98) and joint pain (aOR = 2.06; 95%CI: 1.15-3.69). Age (≥60) was associated with an increased risk of persistent depressed mood (aOR = 3.00; 95%CI: 1.06-8.45). Among comorbidities, chronic wheezers were more likely to experience fatigue (aOR = 3.81; 95%CI: 1.07-13.49), dyspnoea when climbing stairs (aOR = 6.71; 95%CI: 1.51-29.77), dyspnoea when walking a short distance/30m (aOR = 3.96; 95%CI: 1.27-12.33), and cold (aOR = 3.05; 95%CI: 1.14-8.21).
Conclusion: Post COVID-19 symptoms had a high prevalence in this population, where fatigue, dyspnoea, feverishness and arthralgia were the most prevalent. Depressive symptoms were common among females. These findings may empower clinicians to counsel and investigate patients appropriately and suggest the need for further research to raise understanding and public awareness.