Post-COVID-19 syndrome and health-related quality of life after hospital discharge.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the association between the presence of post-COVID-19 syndrome after six months and health-related quality of life 6 and 12 months after hospital discharge.

Method: An ambidirectional cohort study was conducted with individuals discharged from three of the main hospitals in Cuiabá (in the state of Mato Grosso) between October 2021 and March 2022. After collecting data from medical records, individuals were interviewed via telephone 6 months (n = 189) and 12 months (n = 159) after hospital discharge, evaluating the presence of at least one persistent post-COVID-19 symptom at 6 months (post-COVID-19 syndrome) and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L) at 6 and 12 months, as well as specific dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression). The association was assessed via Poisson regression with robust variance, adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and hospitalization characteristics.

Results: Of the individuals assessed, 88.4% answered that they had COVID-19 symptoms in the interview after 6 months. At 6 and 12 months after hospital discharge, 55.0% and 74.2% of individuals, respectively, had some impairment in quality of life. In the multiple model, post-COVID-19 syndrome remained associated with having any quality of life issue (RR = 2.43; 95%CI: 1.06-5.57) and specifically with the anxiety/depression domain (RR = 2.74; 95%CI: 1.08-7.01) at 6 months after discharge. The association was no longer significant after 12 months.

Conclusion: These results show the long-term negative repercussions of post-COVID-19 syndrome on cognitive, emotional, and physical functions, exposing the negative impact on the quality of life of those affected.