The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness
Emerging data suggests that COVID-19 is associated with fatigue well beyond the acute illness period. The present analysis aimed to: (1) characterize the prevalence and incidence of high fatigue at baseline and follow-up; (2) examine the impact of COVID-19 diagnosis on fatigue level following acute...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/18/5910 |
| _version_ | 1797579463792263168 |
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| author | Alexandria Muench Elizabeth W. Lampe Julia T. Boyle Mark Seewald Michelle G. Thompson Michael L. Perlis Ivan Vargas |
| author_facet | Alexandria Muench Elizabeth W. Lampe Julia T. Boyle Mark Seewald Michelle G. Thompson Michael L. Perlis Ivan Vargas |
| author_sort | Alexandria Muench |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Emerging data suggests that COVID-19 is associated with fatigue well beyond the acute illness period. The present analysis aimed to: (1) characterize the prevalence and incidence of high fatigue at baseline and follow-up; (2) examine the impact of COVID-19 diagnosis on fatigue level following acute illness; and (3) examine the impact of acute COVID-19 symptom severity and duration on fatigue at follow-up. Subjects (<i>n</i> = 1417; 81.0% female; 83.3% White; <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula><sub>age</sub> = 43.6 years) completed the PROMIS-Fatigue during the initial wave of the pandemic at baseline (April–June 2020) and 9-month follow-up (January–March 2021). A generalized linear model (binomial distribution) was used to examine whether COVID-19 positivity, severity, and duration were associated with higher fatigue level at follow-up. Prevalence of high fatigue at baseline was 21.88% and 22.16% at follow-up, with 8.12% new cases at follow-up. Testing positive for COVID-19 was significantly associated with higher fatigue at follow-up. COVID-19 symptom duration and severity were significantly associated with increased fatigue at follow-up. COVID-19 symptom duration and severity during acute illness may precipitate longer-term fatigue, which could have implications for treatment planning and future research. Future studies should further evaluate the relationship between symptom severity, duration, and fatigue. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:37:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c5d237e97dc74648adb8f8b199207b5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:37:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c5d237e97dc74648adb8f8b199207b5b2023-11-19T11:19:06ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832023-09-011218591010.3390/jcm12185910The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID IllnessAlexandria Muench0Elizabeth W. Lampe1Julia T. Boyle2Mark Seewald3Michelle G. Thompson4Michael L. Perlis5Ivan Vargas6Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACenter for Weight Eating and Lifestyle Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USANew England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USABehavioral Sleep Medicine Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAAnnenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USABehavioral Sleep Medicine Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK 72701, USAEmerging data suggests that COVID-19 is associated with fatigue well beyond the acute illness period. The present analysis aimed to: (1) characterize the prevalence and incidence of high fatigue at baseline and follow-up; (2) examine the impact of COVID-19 diagnosis on fatigue level following acute illness; and (3) examine the impact of acute COVID-19 symptom severity and duration on fatigue at follow-up. Subjects (<i>n</i> = 1417; 81.0% female; 83.3% White; <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>X</mi></mrow><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula><sub>age</sub> = 43.6 years) completed the PROMIS-Fatigue during the initial wave of the pandemic at baseline (April–June 2020) and 9-month follow-up (January–March 2021). A generalized linear model (binomial distribution) was used to examine whether COVID-19 positivity, severity, and duration were associated with higher fatigue level at follow-up. Prevalence of high fatigue at baseline was 21.88% and 22.16% at follow-up, with 8.12% new cases at follow-up. Testing positive for COVID-19 was significantly associated with higher fatigue at follow-up. COVID-19 symptom duration and severity were significantly associated with increased fatigue at follow-up. COVID-19 symptom duration and severity during acute illness may precipitate longer-term fatigue, which could have implications for treatment planning and future research. Future studies should further evaluate the relationship between symptom severity, duration, and fatigue.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/18/5910COVID-19long COVIDfatiguestress |
| spellingShingle | Alexandria Muench Elizabeth W. Lampe Julia T. Boyle Mark Seewald Michelle G. Thompson Michael L. Perlis Ivan Vargas The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness Journal of Clinical Medicine COVID-19 long COVID fatigue stress |
| title | The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness |
| title_full | The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness |
| title_fullStr | The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness |
| title_short | The Assessment of Post-COVID Fatigue and Its Relationship to the Severity and Duration of Acute COVID Illness |
| title_sort | assessment of post covid fatigue and its relationship to the severity and duration of acute covid illness |
| topic | COVID-19 long COVID fatigue stress |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/18/5910 |
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