The Progression of Symptoms in Post COVID-19 Patients: A Multicentre, Prospective, Observational Cohort Study

on behalf of the P4O2 consortium, Merel E.B. Cornelissen*, Myrthe M. Haarman, Jos W.R. Twisk, Laura Houweling, Nadia Baalbaki, Brigitte Sondermeijer, Rosanne J.H.C.G. Beijers, Debbie Gach, Lizan D. Bloemsma, Anke H. Maitland-van der Zee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, 30% of COVID-19 patients still have long-term complaints. A better understanding of the progression of symptoms after COVID-19 is needed to reduce the burden of the post COVID-19 condition. Objective: This study aims to investigate the progression of symptoms, identify patterns of symptom progression, and assess their associations with patient characteristics. Methods: Within the P4O2 COVID-19 study, patients aged 40–65 years were recruited from five Dutch hospitals. At 3–6 and 12–18 months post COVID-19, medical data were collected, and pulmonary function tests were performed. In between, symptoms were assessed monthly with a questionnaire. Latent class mixed modelling was used to identify symptom progression patterns over time, with multinomial logistic regression to examine associations with patient characteristics. Results: Eighty-eight patients (aged 54.4 years, 48.9% males) were included. Three trajectories were identified for fatigue and dyspnoea: decreasing, high persistent, and low persistent. The odds of “decreasing fatigue” was higher for never smokers and participants in the lifestyle intervention and lower for those having a comorbidity. The odds of “decreasing dyspnoea” was higher for moderate COVID-19 patients and lifestyle intervention participants and lower for males, mild COVID-19 patients, and those with a higher age. Conclusions: Three distinct trajectories were identified for fatigue and dyspnoea, delineating patterns of symptom persistence following COVID-19. Sex, age, smoking status, participation in lifestyle interventions and COVID-19 severity were associated with the likelihood of belonging to different trajectories. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of the long-term symptoms experienced by post COVID-19 patients and emphasise the importance of personalised treatment strategies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2493
Number of pages12
JournalBiomedicines
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.

Keywords

  • dyspnoea
  • fatigue
  • post COVID-19 condition
  • symptom progression
  • trajectories

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