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Introduction: Prospective and longitudinal data on pulmonary injury over one year after acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are sparse. We aim to determine reductions in pulmonary function and respiratory related quality of life up to 12 months after acute COVID-19., Methods: Patients with acute COVID-19 were enrolled into an ongoing single-centre, prospective observational study and prospectively examined 6 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months after onset of COVID-19 symptoms. Chest CT-scans, pulmonary function and symptoms assessed by St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire were used to evaluate respiratory limitations. Patients were stratified according to severity of acute COVID-19., Results: Median age of all patients was 57 years, 37.8% were female. Higher age, male sex and higher BMI were associated with acute-COVID-19 severity (p < 0.0001, 0.001 and 0.004 respectively). Also, pulmonary restriction and reduced carbon monoxide diffusion capacity was associated with disease severity. In patients with restriction and impaired diffusion capacity, FVC improved over 12 months from 61.32 to 71.82, TLC from 68.92 to 76.95, D LCO from 60.18 to 68.98 and K CO from 81.28 to 87.80 (percent predicted values; p = 0.002, 0.045, 0.0002 and 0.0005). The CT-score of lung involvement in the acute phase was associated with restriction and reduction in diffusion capacity in follow-up. Respiratory symptoms improved for patients in higher severity groups during follow-up, but not for patients with initially mild disease., Conclusion: Severity of respiratory failure during COVID-19 correlates with the degree of pulmonary function impairment and respiratory quality of life in the year after acute infection., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Adrian Vasile Bota,1,2 Iulia Bogdan,1– 3 David Vladut Razvan,1,2 Adrian Cosmin Ilie,4 Raluca Tudor,5 Mirela Florica Indries,6 Andrei Nicolae Csep,6 Iosif Marincu1 1Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, 300041, Romania; 2Doctoral School, “victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Timisoara, 300041, Romania; 3Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Timisoara, 300041, Romania; 4Department III Functional Sciences, Division of Public Health and Management, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Timisoara, 300041, Romania; 5Second Discipline of Neurology, “victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Timisoara, 300041, Romania; 6Department of Psycho-Neuroscience and Recovery, University of Oradea, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Oradea, 410087, RomaniaCorrespondence: Raluca Tudor; Andrei Nicolae Csep, Email tudor.raluca@umft.ro; csep.andrei@gmail.comBackground: This study explores the longitudinal psychosocial impact of Long-COVID syndrome, also known as Post-COVID-19 syndrome, characterized by enduring symptoms after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection, over the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. It aimed to examine the variations in depression, anxiety, and quality of life among Post-COVID-19 patients during these years, hypothesizing significant inter-year differences reflecting the pandemic’s evolving influence.Methods: Conducted at Victor Babes Hospital for Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology, Romania, this cross-sectional research involved 324 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19, assessed six months post-hospitalization. Standardized instruments, namely Short Form (SF-36) for quality of life, Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) for anxiety, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression, were utilized.Results: The study observed a consistent average patient age of around 55 years across the years. A notable increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates was recorded, rising from 20.9% in 2020 to over 70% in 2022 (p< 0.001). Trends in key post-COVID symptoms like fatigue and cognitive issues varied over the years. Importantly, there was a consistent decrease in feelings of sadness or depression, with scores declining from 7.3 in 2020 to 4.8 in 2022 (p< 0.001). The SF-36 survey indicated a steady improvement in overall health, reaching 55.8± 7.1 in 2022 (p=0.035). Both GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores showed significant reductions in anxiety and depression over the years, with p-values of 0.030 and 0.031, respectively. Factors such as smoking status, substance use, and the initial severity of COVID-19 infection were significantly associated with depression levels.Conclusion: The findings suggest that despite persistent physical symptoms, Long-COVID patients experienced enhancements in mental well-being and quality of life over the studied period. The increasing vaccination rates might have contributed to this improvement. Addressing modifiable risk factors like smoking and substance use could further optimize post-COVID care and mental health outcomes.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, long-COVID, quality of life, post, acute COVID

This longitudinal study investigates the psychosocial effects of long-COVID Syndrome, a domain still not extensively researched. It specifically evaluates the quality of life, coping mechanisms, anxiety and depression levels in COVID-19 survivors, differentiating between those with and without long-COVID Syndrome. Conducted at the Victor Babes Hospital for Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology in Timisoara, Romania, the study utilized a cohort of patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19. The following standardized tools: WHOQOL-BREF for quality of life, COPE-60 for coping strategies, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), were employed for the assessment. The sample consisted of 86 patients displaying persistent post-acute symptoms and 432 asymptomatic patients at the 6-month post-discharge mark. Patients with frequent post-acute symptoms reported significantly higher levels of fatigue (8.2 ± 1.4), cognitive difficulties (7.5 ± 1.6), and respiratory challenges (7.8 ± 1.3), along with a markedly lower overall quality of life (7.0 ± 1.5) compared to their asymptomatic counterparts. HADS scores revealed elevated depression (6.8 ± 1.9) and anxiety (7.1 ± 2.3) in the symptomatic group. Quality of life, as evaluated through the use of WHOQOL-BREF, showed lower scores in the symptomatic cohort across physical (58.8 ± 15.8), mental (56.3 ± 16.4), and social domains (50.2 ± 17.5). COPE-60 findings indicated a higher prevalence of disengagement (56.4%) and emotion-focused coping strategies (61.8%) in the symptomatic group, in contrast to 30.1% and 37.0%, respectively, in the asymptomatic group. The study highlights that long-COVID Syndrome significantly deteriorates the quality of life and is associated with increased depression and anxiety levels. The prevalent use of disengagement and emotion-focused coping strategies among patients with persistent symptoms suggests a need for enhanced psychosocial support tailored to this subgroup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractSymptoms may persist after an acute COVID-19 infection, a phenomenon termed long-COVID. Increasing attention is now directed toward these long-term effects, as many seem to be affected. So far, long-COVID was primarily discussed from a medical perspective, leaving psychological factors on health-related outcomes understudied. Thus, the present study contributes to the current literature by examining Leventhal’s common-sense model of self-regulation, investigating patients’ cognitive and emotional illness perceptions and their association with different health-related outcomes in the context of long-COVID. We examined 246 long-COVID patients (89.0% female, Mage = 45.29 ± 12.12 years), assessing illness perceptions, fatigue, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life in a cross-sectional survey study. Linear regression analyses were applied to model the unique effects of the illness perception dimension on health-related outcomes. More than half of the sample had elevated levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and fatigue. Illness perception dimensions explained between 28% and 37% of the variance across the analyzed health-related outcomes. More symptoms, higher perceived consequences, and higher emotional representation were related to worse health-related outcomes. In general, long-COVID was poorly understood (i.e., low coherence) and perceived as difficult to control (i.e., personal & treatment control). Health professionals involved in counseling should pay close attention to both cognitive and emotional illness perceptions to address possible ways of coping with long-COVID.