Health-Related Quality of Life of Adult COVID-19 Patients Following One-Month Illness Experience Since Diagnosis: Findings of a Cross-Sectional Study in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: The pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) verdures an incredible impact on the quality of life of the patients. The disease not only denigrates the physical health of the patients but also affect their mental health. Relevant information is very scarce to contribute to improving the health of the COVID-19 victims. This current study aimed to know the impact of the COVID-19 on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from June to November 2020. Total 1204 adult COVID-19 patients aged >18 years diagnosed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay at the central laboratory of NIPSOM, Dhaka were enrolled in the study. The patients who completed the one-month duration of illness were interviewed to assess their health-related quality of life using the CDC HRQOL-14 questionnaire. Data were collected by telephone-interview and reviewing medical records using a semi-structured questionnaire and checklist respectively. Informed consent was obtained from each of the patients and relevant ethical issues were maintained strictly during data collection.Findings: The majority of the COVID-19 patients were males (72.3%), urban residents (50.2%), and service holders (49.6%). The mean±SD duration of physical illness and mental illness was 9.83(±7.09) and 7.97(±8.12) days respectively. After 30 days following CIVID-19 illness, the general health condition was excellent/very good/good in 70.1% of patients while it was fair/poor in 29.8% of patients. Older age, sex, and marital status were significantly associated with at least one dimension of HRQOL. Patients having symptoms of COVID-19 and comorbidity had significantly poorer HRQOL.Interpretation: COVID-19 pretenses a significant impact on multiple dimensions of health-related quality of life of the patients. Both the physical and mental health of COVID-19 patients is impaired during the clinical course of the disease. Our findings suggest that more effective preventive, promotive, and curative initiatives should be taken to prevent morbidity and mortality by restoring the health-related quality of life of COVID-19 patients. Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. All the authors had self-financial contribution to conduct the research.Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of NIPSOM, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Ref. No. NIPSOM/IRB/2020/5).