ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy
This article is part of the Research TopicLong- and Post-COVID Syndromes: Immune Mechanisms and Therapeutic StrategiesView all 10 articles
Assessment of Long COVID Symptoms and Functional Status: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Cohort
Provisionally accepted
Nicolás Escrivá1,2*
Laura Moreno-Galarraga3,4,5
Elena Barado6María Gabriela Torres6
Alejandro Fernandez-Montero5,6- 1Department of Occupational Medicine, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- 2Unidad Docente Multiprofesional de Salud Laboral, Instituto de Salud Publica y Laboral de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- 3Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- 4Science Faculty, Medicine, Universidad Publica de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- 5Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain
- 6Department of Occupational Medicine, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
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This cross-sectional study examines the functional limitations of Long COVID (LC) in a clinically confirmed cohort (n=220). We collected sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle data via a structured electronic form and assessed daily limitations using the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) scale. Linear models evaluated the association between symptom burden and functional limitations and identified symptom-specific predictors of impairment. Participants had a mean age of 44.8 years and 80.5% were women. A dose–response pattern linked higher symptom count with worse PCFS grades in the multivariable-adjusted model (β = 0.17; 95% CI 0.10–0.25; p<0.001). In hierarchical models, fatigue, dizziness, and memory loss were independent predictors of greater functional limitations (crude β: fatigue 1.56; 95% CI 1.22–1.90; dizziness 1.08; 95% CI 0.81–1.34; and memory loss 1.26; 95% CI 0.97–1.55), cumulatively explaining 51.3% of the variance in functional limitations. By contrast, other common LC symptoms did not retain independent associations after adjustment. These findings highlight the value of simple symptom counts and targeted symptom profiles for risk stratification in primary care and occupational health, and for planning rehabilitation and work ability assessment. Prospective studies should validate these indicators over time and explore mechanisms linking neurocognitive and fatigue phenotypes with persistent disability.
Keywords: COVID-19, long covid symptoms, Post-COVID FuncNonal Status Scale, FaNgue, FuncNonal impairment
Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Escrivá, Moreno-Galarraga, Barado, Torres and Fernandez-Montero. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nicolás Escrivá
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