A Survey Study on the Prevalence and Correlation of Physical and Mental Fatigue in Long COVID Patients

Abstract

Background: As the most prevalent post-COVID symptom, there is relatively little information on quantifying the amount of physical and mental fatigue in post-COVID patients using any particular outcome measures. Hence, this study was carried out to assess the prevalence and correlation of physical and mental fatigue among post-COVID patients. Method: This was conducted among the post-COVID subjects of Odisha with confirmed COVID both online and offline during the third wave of COVID, in which about 307 confirmed subjects were scanned from about 400 responses, revising the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: 213 (69%) of the subjects possessed fatigue as the most prevalent post-COVID symptom. Physical fatigue of about 248 (81%), mental fatigue, as well as pandemic fatigue of about 193 (63%). 177 (58%) of the female subjects was affected. 193 (63%) were from the younger age group, 53 (17%) from the middle age group, and 61(20%) from the old age group experienced fatigue. The existence of a correlation between age group and fatigue was significant (p value <0.05, CI 95%) but not between gender and fatigue. Conclusion: More than half of the participants had characteristic symptoms with significant fatigue. Aside from that, we demonstrated that physical fatigue outnumbers mental and pandemic fatigue.