Prevalence and associated risk factors of post COVID fatigue among Parkinson’s disease patients during one year follow up

One of the most common post-COVID-19 condition is persistent fatigue, while post-COVID fatigue among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients is less known. This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of post-COVID fatigue in PD patients at 1 month and 12 months after symptom onset. PD patients attending clinic from December 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled consecutively in the study. All participants were assessed demographics, details of COVID-19 infection, clinical characteristics as well as fatigue status with Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) (cutoff ≥ 36) at 1-month and 12-month after symptom onset. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the risk factors of post-COVID fatigue. Fatigue symptoms were reported by 75.89% of PD patients and associated with decreased physical activity and number of initial symptoms of COVID-19 at 1 month. Meanwhile, 32.99% of PD patients at 12 months reported persistent fatigue. Using of antiviral drugs, decreased physical activity, anxiety status and delayed ON were associated with persistent fatigue at 12 months. Clinically persistent fatigue was pervasive in our study at 12-month after COVID infection. These findings implicate using of antiviral drugs, decreased physical activity, anxiety status and delayed ON were possible predictors of post-COVID persistent fatigue.