Long-Term Quality of Life after COVID-19 Infection: Cross-Sectional Study of Health Care Workers

Moussa Antar, Hansjoerg Ullerich, Andreas Zaruchas, Torsten Meier, Ricarda Diller, Ulrich Pannewick and Sameer A. Dhayat ()
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Moussa Antar: Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Pneumology, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
Hansjoerg Ullerich: Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Infectiology, University Hospital Muenster, Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1 (A14), 48149 Muenster, Germany
Andreas Zaruchas: Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Pneumology, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
Torsten Meier: Department of Anaesthesiology, Operative Intensive Care Medicine, and Pain Therapy, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
Ricarda Diller: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
Ulrich Pannewick: Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Pneumology, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
Sameer A. Dhayat: Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Brüderkrankenhaus St. Josef Paderborn, Husener Straße 46, 33098 Paderborn, Germany

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: (1) Background: Post-COVID syndrome is defined as symptoms that occur simultaneously with or after a COVID-19 infection, last for 12 weeks, and are not due to another diagnosis. Limited data are available on people’s long-term quality of life following a COVID-19 infection. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the long-term quality of life after COVID-19 among employees of a hospital in Germany and to identify risk factors. (2) Methods: A monocentric, cross-sectional study was conducted using the validated and digitized WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire via Netigate® between 10/2022 and 02/2023. Data on the quality of life and global health status were collected in the following four domains: physical health, mental health, social relationships, and the environment. (3) Results: The response rate was 73.8 % (923/1250). Furthermore, 63.4 % of the hospital staff respondents reported at least one persistent symptom after a COVID-19 infection, leading to significant differences in quality of life. Pre-existing conditions, persistent symptoms, and disabilities after a COVID-19 infection as well as a high BMI, no partnership, and a low educational level were found to significantly contribute to a low long-term quality of life. (4) Conclusions: Obesity, a lack of partnership, and a low level of education were independent risk factors for a lower quality of life post-COVID-19 infection in this cohort of hospital staff. Further multicenter studies are required to validate the incidence and their suitability as independent risk factors for post-COVID syndrome.

Keywords: long-term quality of life (QoL); COVID-19 pandemic; health care workers; post-COVID syndrome; WHOQOL-BREF (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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