The impact of patients’ medical activity on the timing of COVID‑19 diagnosis.

Medical activity of patients, including timely seeking medical help and adherence to recommendations, plays a key role in the early detection of diseases. The relationship between the medical and social characteristics of patients, their activity, and the timeliness of diagnosis remains insufficiently studied. The aim of the study is to study the impact of patients’ medical activity on the timing of COVID‑19 diagnosis and identify ways to improve it. Materials and methods. A survey and analysis of the medical records of 1820 COVID‑19 patients (U07.1), who sought outpatient care in Bashkortostan (December 2020 – March 2021), were conducted. Patients under 18 years old, pregnant women, those who did not consent to participate, and those with incomplete questionnaires were excluded. The study examined medical and social characteristics (gender, age, marital status, education, comorbidities, etc.) and the level of medical activity before the illness. Patients were divided into three activity groups: low, medium, and high. The organization of COVID‑19 diagnostics was assessed: time of seeking help, diagnosis, treatment, and duration of sick leave. The distribution of patients was analyzed by gender and age groups (up to 39 years, 40–60 years, over 60 years). Statistical data processing was performed using the student’s t-test (p < 0.05) in Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26). Results. The study showed that 33.8% of patients were under 39 years old, 39.0% were aged 40–60 years, and 27.2% were over 60 years old. 60.2% of patients worked in intellectual labor, with a higher proportion among women (63.8%). According to the survey, 39.4% of patients with chronic diseases sought medical help untimely, with this figure being higher among men (42.1%). The highest proportion of timely visits was observed among patients over 60 years old (42.1%). Among the respondents, 55.7% were registered with a dispensary, 37.6% of them regularly underwent preventive examinations, and 41.8% ignored them. Women were more likely to have regular checkups, while men were less likely. 51.1% of patients fully followed the doctor’s recommendations, 27.0% partially followed them, and 21.9% did not follow them. Younger patients (under 39 years) were more likely to not adhere to recommendations. High medical activity was observed in 40.8% of patients, medium activity in 22.1%, and low activity in 37.2%. Women had higher activity levels more frequently, while men had lower activity levels. Most patients sought medical help on the 4th‑6th day of illness (50.3%), with men having a lower proportion than women. Diagnoses were more often made within 1–3 days after being ordered (60.1%), and treatment started on the day of diagnosis or within 1–3 days for 95.4% of patients. A larger proportion of patients were on sick leave for 8 to 14 days (51.4%). Patients with high medical activity sought help earlier (1–3 days), had research conducted on the same day, and began treatment on the same day. At the same time, patients with low activity sought help later, waited longer for diagnostics and treatment, and had longer periods of sick leave. Findings. The results show that patients with high medical activity receive medical help at earlier stages of the disease, which leads to faster diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, patients with low activity seek help later, leading to delays in diagnostics, treatment, and longer periods of sick leave.