Prevalence and Associated Factors of Post-COVID-19 Syndrome in a Brazilian Cohort after 3 and 6 Months of Hospital Discharge.

(1) Objectives: To evaluate the frequency and factors associated with the Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS) in COVID-19 survivors after 3 and 6 months of hospital discharge; (2) Methods: We conducted a cohort study with patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 in a referral public hospital in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil. After 3 and 6 months of discharge, patients answered a questionnaire about PCS symptoms. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate the crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR and aPR) of PCS. (3) Results: The prevalence of PCS was 81% and 61% after 3 and 6 months of hospital discharge, respectively. The main symptoms after 3 months of discharge were hair loss (44%), fatigue (42%), and memory loss (39%); while after 6 months, they were memory loss (29%) and fatigue (27%). In the multivariate analysis, the main factor associated with PCS was female gender (aPR): 1.28 (1.16-1.41) and 1.60 (1.34-1.90), 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia was also associated with PCS after 3 months aPR of 1.15 (1.04-1.27). After 6 months of discharge, obesity [aPR: 1.22 (1.03-1.45)] and pronation [aPR: 1.15 (1.06-1.25)] were relevant associated factors. (4) Conclusions: The prevalence of PCS was high in COVID-19 survivors who had the moderate and severe forms of the disease. Memory loss was the most persistent symptom. Our data pointed to female gender, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and pronation during hospitalization as relevant PCS-associated risk factors.

Knowledge about COVID-19 and Associated Factors Early in the Outbreak among the Brazilian Population.

(1) Background: In Brazil, the first case of the novel coronavirus occurred on the 25 February 2020, and since then, it has spread rapidly over the entire country. During a pandemic, knowledge, attitudes, and practices are expected to largely influence the adherence to non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs). We evaluated the knowledge about COVID-19 and associated factors early in the outbreak among the Brazilian population. (2) Methods: A Brazilian cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of the following topics: isolation, caring for someone sick at home, cleaning habits, disinfecting habits, and true and fake news. Logistic regression was conducted using sociodemographic and associated factors as the independent variables and a knowledge score as the dependent variable to estimate factors associated with knowledge about COVID-19. Crude, sex-, and age-adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated. (3) Results: Participants with a better educational status had higher odds of having a higher knowledge score (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.15-5.37). Similarly, healthcare providers (health students and professionals) had higher odds of having higher scores regarding knowledge about COVID-19 (OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.05-2.48) than other counterparts. Of the wrong answers, the most frequent was the isolation period, followed by household recommendations to prevent COVID-19 and cleaning habits. (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, our study suggests that a higher educational status and being a healthcare provider are conditions associated with superior knowledge about COVID-19. In addition, inadequate knowledge related to isolation, COVID-19 prevention, and cleaning habits were found in our study. We believe that improving awareness to address these specific COVID-19 issues through a health education campaign is a significant approach for public health policymakers to fight against COVID-19 in Brazil.