Investigation of long-term COVID-19 patients' quality of life and affecting factors: Data from single COVID-19 follow-up center.

Abstract

Patients with COVID-19 experienced changes in their quality of life. However, far less is known about how quality of life changes in long-term COVID-19 follow-ups. This article aims to explore the relationship between quality of life change and long-term COVID-19 patient status in the COVID-19 follow-up center. This study was designed retrospectively with patients admitted to the COVID-19 follow-up center between January and May 2021. The single group consisted of 125 patients. Their status and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) variables were compared at two different time intervals. The first admission indicates the first 3 months, and the second admission covers 3-6 months after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Cough and chest pain increased in the second admission (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found in SF-36 change according to age. The general health subgroup scores were lower in females than males (P = 0.004). The SF-36 Form's subgroups for physical function, physical role, emotional role, bodily pain, energy, mental health, general health, and social function showed improvement (P = 0.001, P = 0.001, P = 0.026 P < 0.001, P = 0.007, P = 0.031, P <0.001, P <0.001, respectively). In addition, comparing with the SF-36 subgroups in terms of treatment places, a significant result was found between the inpatient and intensive care unit (ICU) in the general health subgroup (P = 0.044). The results show that quality of life may worsen during follow-up for COVID-19. In summary, these findings have significant implications for understanding long-term COVID-19 patients with a multidisciplinary approach and the necessity of follow-up centers to detect the unpredictable results of long-term COVID-19.