Examination of factors affecting quality of life, physical activity level, cognitive impairment, and dyspnea level in individuals with long COVID: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

It is known that COVID-19, which affects large masses worldwide, causes prolonged symptoms in some individuals. The present study aims to determine the factors affecting quality of life, physical activity level, cognitive impairment, and dyspnea level in individuals with long COVID. The study included COVID-19 patients diagnosed at the Chest Diseases Clinic at least 12 weeks ago. Phone calls were conducted to all participants to collect demographic and clinical data. Participants were verbally administered the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Form), EQ-5D-5L Scale, and Short Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration test (BOMC). Multiple linear regression was used to determine independent variable effects on dependent variables. The study included 176 individuals, with a mean age of 54.57±1.49 years and 41.5% (73) being female. Female gender (0.112 times), severe disease (0.282 times), and aging (0.006 units per year) were found to impact quality of life negatively (p<0.05). Females (330.068 times) and older individuals (14.711 times) had lower physical activity levels (p<0.05). A one-year increase in age increased the cognitive impairment level by 0.181 units. Moderate and severe disease increased cognitive impairment by 3.509 and 5.764 times, respectively, compared to mild disease. Dyspnea increased with age (0.031 units) and severity (0.446 times intermediate disease; 0.981 times severe disease). The physical and cognitive evaluation of individuals with long COVID, especially those of female gender and advanced age and with severe disease, is important for their activities of daily living and quality of life.