Chapter 5 146 Prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection, most study participants (193/303; 64%) had paid employment (Table 1). Of these 193, 52 (26.9%) reached their month 12 study visit and completed the question on long-term leave. 38% (6/16) of those with severe fatigue at month 12 were either fully or partially on long-term leave, whilst this proportion was 11% (4/36) for those without severe fatigue at month 12 (p<0.026). Factors associated with fatigue severity over time In the linear mixed-effects Model 1, participants who were female, obese, originated from LMICs or had ≥3 comorbidities illness onset had significantly higher mean fatigue severity scores compared to their respective reference groups, when adjusting for age and time since illness onset (Table 2; Supplementary Figure 3a). When adjusting for clinical severity in Model 2, BMI and migration background were no longer statistically significant (Supplementary Table S2), but female participants continued to have higher mean fatigue severity scores than males (aβ 2.21 [95%CI 0.78-3.64]; Table 2). Participants with moderate (aβ 3.37 [95%CI 1.72-5.03]) or severe/critical disease (aβ 4.39 [95%CI 2.35-6.42]) experienced significantly higher fatigue severity than those with mild disease (Table 2; Supplementary Figure 3b). In Model 3, participants with dyspnoea in the acute phase (aβ 2.47 [95%CI 1.01-3.93]), high level of baseline sadness (aβ 3.25 [95%CI 1.404.90]), severe/critical disease (aβ 3.17 [95%CI 1.11-5.22]) and ≥3 comorbidities (aβ 4.41 [95%CI 1.64-7.18]) had higher mean SFQ scores when adjusting for age and sex (Table 2; Supplementary Figure 3c). A statistically significant decline in fatigue severity was observed in the first 6 months after illness onset (aβ -4.32 [95%CI -5.29 - -3.35]) but no further decrease was observed between month 6 to month 12 (p=0.561).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw