Assessment of Post COVID-19 Health Problems and Its Determinants in North India: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

With millions of people getting affected with COVID-19 pandemic caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), people living with post COVID-19 symptoms (PCS) are expected to rise in the future· The present study aimed at assessing PCS comprehensively and its associated factors among COVID-19 recovered adult population in north India. Methods: In a tertiary health centre at Delhi, an online based cross-sectional study was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire, developed by employing a nominal group technique, in aged 18 years and above who were SARS-CoV-2 positive during the month of January to April 2021. Socio-demographic, various potential risk factors, including pre-existing morbidities, vaccination status, and severity of acute COVID-19 illness, information on acute illness management and a spectrum of PCS were collected between June 16 to July 28, 2021. Each participant was contacted telephonically first, before sending the survey link. PCS were presented as relative frequency; chi-square test, odds ratio, including adjusted, were calculated to rule out association between PCS and potential predictors. Results:  A total of 773 of 1801 COVID recovered participants responded to the link reaching a participation rate of 42·9%, with a median age of 34 years (IQR 27 to 44).  Male respondents were 56·4%. Around 33·2% of them had PCS at four or more weeks, affecting almost all body organ systems. The most prevalent PCS were fatigue (79·3%), pain in the joins (33·4%), muscle (29·9%), hair loss (28·0%), headache (27·2%), breathlessness (25·3%), sleep disturbance (25·3%) and cough (24·9%). The prevalence of PCS was reduced to 12·8% at 12 weeks after positive test. Factor such as female gender, older age, oxygen supplementation during the acute illness, working in healthcare care facilities, the severity of acute illness, and pre-existing co-morbid were risk factors for PCS. Further, vaccination (second dose) reduced the odds of developing PCS by 45% compared to unvaccinated participants (aOR 0·65; 95%CI 0·45-0·96). Finally, 8·3% of participants rated their overall health status was either poor or very poor following COVID-19 illness.   Conclusions: The PCS involves almost all organ systems, regardless of the severity of acute COVID-19 illness.  Two doses of vaccine help to reduce development of PCS. Funding Information: There is no sources of funding for this study. Authors contributed voluntarily to this study. Declaration of Interests: There are no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the institute ethics committee at the institution. The participants were asked for the digital informed consent at the time of registration. The study was done in accordance with ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.