AUTHOR=Sun Liang-Liang , Wang Jian , Wang Yu-Sheng , Pan Xiao , Luo Jun , Liu Hua , Jiang Yi-Rou , Zhuang Xin , Lin Liang , Li Gan-Cheng , Zhao Jun-Wei , Wang Wei , Wang Yuan-Jing , Wang Zhi-Hao , Shan Hong-Biao , Chen Shuai-Shuai , Chen Jun-Lin , Xu Zhao-Wei , Bai Yong-Hai , Huang Hai , Xie Wei-Fen 

TITLE=15-Month Health Outcomes and the Related Risk Factors of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients From Onset: A Cohort Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.854788

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.854788

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Objective
The long-term impact of COVID-19 on patient health has been a recent focus. This study aims to determine the persistent symptoms and psychological conditions of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 15 months after onset. The potential risk factors were also explored.
Methods
A cohort of COVID-19 patients discharged from February 20, 2020 to March 31, 2020 was recruited. Follow-ups were conducted using validated questionnaires and psychological screening scales at 15 months after onset to evaluate the patients’ health status. The risk factors for long-term health impacts and their associations with disease severity was analyzed. 
Findings
534 COVID-19 patients were enrolled. The median age of the patients was 62.0 years old (IQR 52.0-70.0) and 295 were female (55.2%). The median time from onset to follow-up was 460.0 (451.0-467.0) days. Sleep disturbance (18.5%, 99/534) and fatigue (17.2%, 92/534) were the most common persistent symptoms. 6.4% (34/534) of the patients had depression, 9.2% (49/534) were anxious, 13.0% (70/534) had insomnia and 4.7% (25/534) suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multivariate adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that glucocorticoid use during hospitalization (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.12-11.44) was significantly associated with an increased risk of fatigue. The OR values for anxiety and sleep disorders were 2.36 (95% CI 1.07-5.20) and 2.16 (95% CI 1.13-4.14) in females compared with males. The OR value of PTSD was 25.6 (95% CI 3.3-198.4) in patients with persistent symptoms to those without persistent symptoms. No significant associations were observed between fatigue syndrome or adverse mental outcomes and disease severity.
Conclusions 
15-month follow-up in this study aroused the need of extended rehabilitation intervention for complete recovery in COVID-19 patients.