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

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.