Abstract
ObjectiveSubjective illness perception (IP) can differ from physician's clinical assessment results. Herein, we explored patient's IP during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery. MethodsParticipants of the prospective observation CovILD study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04416100) with persistent somatic symptoms or cardiopulmonary findings one year after COVID-19 were analyzed (n = 74). Explanatory variables included demographic and comorbidity, COVID-19 course and one-year follow-up data of persistent somatic symptoms, physical performance, lung function testing, chest computed tomography and trans-thoracic echocardiography. Factors affecting IP (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire) one year after COVID-19 were identified by regularized modeling and unsupervised clustering. ResultsIn modeling, 33% of overall IP variance (R2) was attributed to fatigue intensity, reduced physical performance and persistent somatic symptom count. Overall IP was largely independent of lung and heart findings revealed by imaging and function testing. In clustering, persistent somatic symptom count (Kruskal-Wallis test: η2 = 0.31, p < .001), fatigue (η2 = 0.34, p < .001), diminished physical performance (χ2 test, Cramer V effect size statistic: V = 0.51, p < .001), dyspnea (V = 0.37, p = .006), hair loss (V = 0.57, p < .001) and sleep problems (V = 0.36, p = .008) were strongly associated with the concern, emotional representation, complaints, disease timeline and consequences IP dimensions. ConclusionPersistent somatic symptoms rather than abnormalities in cardiopulmonary testing influence IP one year after COVID-19. Modifying IP represents a promising innovative approach to treatment of post-COVID-19 condition. Besides COVID-19 severity, individual IP should guide rehabilitation and psychological therapy decisions.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.