Conectar
With the prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic, more individuals are experiencing sequelae after COVID-19 infection, also known as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence and characteristics of PCS symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, and depression and to compare these symptoms according to participant characteristics in patients who had been previously hospitalized due to COVID-19.
A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used.
We included 114 individuals who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 and were discharged from the hospital at least 4 weeks before. Symptoms were assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale, the Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale, and the PCS symptom questionnaire developed by the authors. We used descriptive statistics, the Student's t-test, the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and the Kruskal–Wallis test for statistical analyses.
The most prevalent symptoms were anxiety (66.7%), fatigue (64.0%), headache (57.9%), and concentration or memory difficulties (57.9%). Concentration or memory difficulties and sleep disturbances had the highest mean frequency. Concentration or memory difficulties were rated with the highest mean severity, and cough, loss of taste, and muscle and joint pain had the highest mean distress scores. Female participants, individuals hospitalized for more than 2 weeks, individuals discharged more than 9 months ago, unvaccinated patients, and those who tried at least one symptom relief method reported higher symptom distress.
The findings of this investigation into the frequency, severity, and distress of symptoms shed light on the identification of post-COVID symptoms in detail. To objectively evaluate and comprehend the symptom trajectories of PCS, prospective studies about the development of symptom assessment tools and studies with a longitudinal design should be conducted.
A substantial number of respondents reported numerous symptoms and expressed symptom distress; therefore, the development of nursing interventions and treatments to alleviate PCS symptoms is crucial.
This study aims to identify longitudinal patterns and predictors of cognitive function trajectories among Korean older adults with cardiovascular diseases.
This study is a longitudinal panel analysis based on secondary data. Data from the the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) were used for analysis.
The KLoSA is a representative panel survey of older Koreans. We analyzed responses from 301 participants aged ≥65 years who completed the same survey more than three times out of five waves between 2012 and 2020.
Latent class growth modeling identified two trajectories of cognitive function in older people with cardiovascular diseases: “low and declining” (n = 81, 26.9%) and “high and declining” (n = 220, 73.1%). Participants in “the low and declining trajectory group” were more likely to have a low educational level, weak handgrip strength, depression, and low social participation at baseline than those in “the high and declining trajectory group.”
Our results indicate a need to develop community-based tailored interventions for improving handgrip strength, mental health, and social participation in delaying cognitive decline in older people with cardiovascular diseases considering their educational level.
Healthcare providers should be more concerned about older people with a weaker handgrip, depression, and low social activities as a high-risk group for cognitive decline over time in cardiovascular care. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate them early with standardized tools and make subsequent strategies for the older population with cardiovascular diseases.
FreshRSS 