Quality of life at work and fatigue after hospitalization due to COVID‐19

Abstract Objective To evaluate course of quality of life (QoL) after hospitalization due to COVID‐19 and to assess whether symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were its predictors at different time points. Methods Participants aged 18 or older retrospectively reported QoL at work with 4‐point Likert scale and presence of eight CFS symptoms before infection, within 0–4, 4–12, and > 12 weeks post‐COVID with online or paper version of validated neuropsychological questionnaire. Results Two hundred and eighty‐three patients (median age 59 [47–67] years, 37.45% women, 95.76% non‐ICU residents) were evaluated after median of 27.1 (24.9–31.6) weeks from first positive swab test for SARS‐CoV‐2. Any decrease in QoL at work was observed in 33.21%, 29.28%, and 25.54% of patients within 4, 4–12, and > 12 weeks after COVID‐19, respectively ( p < 0.001). Within 4 weeks after COVID‐19 onset, decrease in QoL at work was predicted by age (OR = 0.93, 95% CI:0.90–0.96, p < 0.001), persistent fatigue unrelated to effort (OR = 4.03, 95% CI:1.21–13.50, p < 0.001), sore throat (OR = 5.33, 95% CI:1.92–14.78, p = 0.001), and prolonged post‐exercise fatigue (OR = 8.12, 95% CI:2.17–30.56, p = 0.002). Predictors of deterioration in QoL at work 4–12 and > 12 weeks post‐infection were age (OR = 0.97, 95% CI:0.94–0.99, p = 0.015 and OR = 0.93, 95% CI:0.90–0.97, p = 0.001, respectively), non‐restorative sleep (OR = 2.75, 95% CI:1.25–6.05, p = 0.012 and OR = 3.62, 95% CI:1.40–9.38, p = 0.008, respectively), and headache (OR = 2.78, 95% CI:1.29–5.99, p = 0.009 and OR = 5.68, 95% CI:2.15–15.02, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, decreased QoL at work was predicted by post‐exercise fatigue (OR = 5.99, 95% CI:2.18–16.20, p < 0.001) and fatigue not caused by effort (OR = 14.40, 95% CI:4.77–43.45, p < 0.001) within 4–12 and > 12 weeks post‐infection, respectively. Conclusions Different CFS symptoms are associated with decreased QoL at work at various time points since COVID‐19 onset.