Zhongguo quanke yixue (May 2024)
Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors of Fatigue in COVID-19 during Recovery Period
Abstract
Background After infection with SARS-CoV-2, the body will experience symptoms such as hyposthenia, fatigue, and accelerated heart rate for a period of time. Current research institutions do not have a clear description of the persistent symptoms and causes of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) . Objective To explore the correlation between the characteristics of fatigue and its related symptoms during the recovery period of COVID-19, and provide data reference for the scientific control of COVID-19. Methods The survey of COVID-19 was conducted in urban and rural areas of Guangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou from December 2022 to February 2023, a total of 750 questionnaires were distributed and 732 questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 97.6%. Among the 732 respondents, 356 were males (48.63%) and 376 were females (51.37%) ; the average age was (35.2±16.0) years. There were 526 infected individuals and 206 uninfected individuals. The infections and clinical symptoms of the respondents were statistically analyzed by using questionnaires, and the subjective fatigue level was measured using the Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14), and the measurement results were analyzed for differences. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between clinical characteristics and fatigue levels in COVID-19, and binary Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors for fatigue in COVID-19. Results Fever was the most common symptom of COVID-19, accounting for 88.97% (468/526), the average maximum fever temperature in febrile patients was (38.96±1.35) ℃. The physical fatigue and overall fatigue scores of infected individuals were higher than those of uninfected individuals (P<0.05). The scores of physical fatigue, mental fatigue and overall fatigue of female infected individuals were higher than those of male infected individuals (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the total fatigue score of FS-14 was positively correlated with the maximum fever temperature (r=0.192, P<0.001), fever duration (r=0.299, P<0.001) and physical recovery time (r=0.358, P<0.001). The results of binary Logistic regression analysis showed that fever (OR=1.215, 95%CI=1.029-1.434, P=0.022), the accelerated heart rate (OR=7.325, 95%CI=1.671-32.114, P=0.008), and ocular pain (OR=3.298, 95%CI=1.251-8.696, P=0.016) were risk factors for fatigue above moderate in COVID-19 during recovery period. Conclusion The fatigue symptoms of COVID-19 are obvious during the recovery period, with females had higher levels of fatigue than males. Accelerated heart rate, ocular pain, and elevated maximum fever temperature may be risk factors for fatigue above moderate in COVID-19 during recovery period.
Keywords
