Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Quality of Life in Post COVID-19 Patients

The long-term prognosis and 'health-related quality of life' (HRQoL) following non-hospitalization for COVID-19-related severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) are limited. The goal is to evaluate the impact of HRQoL in non-hospitalized COVID-19-related SARI patients one year after discharge, with an emphasis on the potential impact of age. This study compared the quality of life of people who had recovered from COVID-19 to those who had not been affected. Method This retrospective cohort study examined outcome data from 1207 patients with confirmed COVID-19-related SARI from Surat OPD, neighbouring districts, and educational institutes over 3 months. We gathered 36-item short form (SF-36) HRQoL questionnaires from individuals who survived one year. We compared HRQoL domains across three age groups (<49, 49-69, and over 69). Results Overall mortality among hospitalised patients was 46.5%. In our SF-36 cohort (n=169), there was a significant reduction in all HRQoL domains compared to normative data. The most significant reductions were in the physical component (p<0.001) across all ages and the emotional component (p<0.01) in the 49-69-year age group. Age had no additional impact on HRQoL. Conclusion After one year, all SF-36 domains showed significant reductions. Except for physical functioning and the total physical component, age had minimal effect on HRQoL severity.