Quality of Life, Fatigue, and Physical Symptoms Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

The magnitude of post-COVID-19 syndrome was not thoroughly investigated. This study evaluated the quality of life and persistence of fatigue and physical symptoms of individuals post-COVID-19 compared with noninfected controls. The study included 965 participants; 400 had previous COVID-19 disease and 565 controls without COVID-19. The questionnaire collected data on comorbidities, COVID-19 vaccination, general health questions, and physical symptoms, in addition to validated measures of quality of life (SF-36 scale), fatigue (fatigue severity scale, FSS), and dyspnea grade. COVID-19 participants complained more frequently of weakness, muscle pain, respiratory symptoms, voice disorders, imbalance, taste and smell loss, and menstrual problems compared to the controls. Joint symptoms, tingling, numbness, hypo/hypertension, sexual dysfunction, headache, bowel, urinary, cardiac, and visual symptoms did not differ between groups. Dyspnea grade II-IV did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.116). COVID-19 patients scored lower on the SF-36 domains of role physical (p = 0.045), vitality (p < 0.001), reported health changes (p < 0.001), and mental-components summary (p = 0.014). FSS scores were significantly higher in COVID-19 participants (3 (1.8-4.3) vs. 2.6 (1.4-4); p < 0.001). COVID-19 effects could persist beyond the acute infection phase. These effects include changes in quality of life, fatigue, and persistence of physical symptoms.

The Prevalence of Psychological Distress and Its Relationship to Sleep Quality in Saudi Arabia's General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures on sleep quality and psychological distress in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Subjective sleep quality over the preceding 30 days was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In addition, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was used to assess the psychological distress. RESULTS: The study included 836 participants. The median age was 28 years, 624 (74.64%) were females, and 158 (18.90%) were healthcare workers. Factors associated with poor sleep were recent changes in the sleep habits p = 0.004), anxiety or fear because of coronavirus news on social media p = 0.02), fear because there was no approved drug to treat COVID-19 p = 0.03), and unaware of the presence of chronic diseases p = 0.03). Female gender p = 0.02), fear or anxiety because of coronavirus news on social media p = 0.04), recent change in sleep habits (OR: 1.97 (1.15-3.39); p = 0.01), fear because there is no approved drug to treat COVID-19 p = 0.001), monthly income <1000 SR p = 0.01), and isolation p = 0.01) were associated with distress. PSQI and K10 scores were significantly correlated p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Poor sleep and psychological distress are common during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. Identifying factors associated with poor sleep and psychological distress would help develop specific intervention programs that enhance mental health and sleep quality during pandemics.