The Impact of Long-COVID on Functioning – Results from a Community Survey in Patients After Mild and Moderate SARS-CoV-2-Infection in Germany
Abstract BackgroundIn COVID-19 survivors a relatively high number of long-term symptoms have been observed. Besides impact on quality of life, these symptom (now called long-COVID) may have an impact on functioning and my hinder affected people to participate in social life. However, little is known if and to what extent patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 who did not need hospitalization or intensive care develop such a syndrome.MethodsA cross-sectional study in 1027 patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 has been performed in two communities in Bavaria, Germany. The Rehabilitation-Needs-Survey (RehabNeS) that includes Short Form 36 health questionnaire (SF-36) on health-related quality of life, was performed. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results97.5 % of patients reported one symptom in infection phase such as fatigue, respiratory problems, limitations of the sense of taste and smell, as well as fear and anxiety and other symptoms. In this phase 84.1% of participants experienced activity limitations and participation restrictions such as carrying out daily routine, handling stress, getting household tasks done, care/support for others, and relaxing and leisure.61.9% of participants reported persisting symptoms after more than 3 months after infection. These were among others fatigue, sleep disturbances, respiratory problems pain, fears and anxiety, and restrictions in movement. 49% of the participants reported on activity limitations and participation restrictions. Predominately these were handling stress, carrying out daily routine, looking after one’s health, relaxing and leisure activities as well as doing house work.The impact on quality of life and vocational performance were rather low.ConclusionThe results show that long-term symptoms after mild and moderate COVID-19 are common and lead to limitations of activities and participation. However, it seems that in most cases they are not very severe and do not lead to frequent or severe issues with quality of live or work ability.