THE COMPARISON OF THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN CONVALESCENTS AND CONTROLS: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the fatigue and dyspnea level, respiratory function, mental fatigue, sleep quality, and social influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in convalescent and controls and to explore the relationship between these characteristics in both groups.Methods: A total of 352 participants, including COVID-19 convalescent (n=176) and controls (n=176), participated in this study. The following instruments were used by online technologies: Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to investigate fatigue and dyspnea level, Single Breath Counting (SBC) test to measure respiratory function, Wood Mental Fatigue Inventory (WMFI) to evaluate mental fatigue, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess the sleep quality and Social Influences Survey Questionnaire (SISQ) to investigate social influences of the pandemic.Results: COVID-19 convalescents reported higher levels of tiredness, dyspnea, and mental fatigue than controls (p<0.05). In both groups, there was a moderate-low positive relationship between fatigue and dyspnea levels. The respiratory functions and sleep quality of COVID-19 convalescents were lower than controls. There was a positive correlation between mental fatigue and sleep quality for the COVID-19 convalescents (p<0.05). Furthermore, the social influences of the pandemic were comparable in COVID-19 convalescents and controls (p>0.05).Conclusion: Even after long-term COVID-19 recovery, symptoms like increased fatigue and dyspnea, mental fatigue, poor respiratory function, and sleep disturbances persist. Therefore, it is necessary to develop treatment strategies in order to alleviate these problems.