Exploratory, Cross-Sectional Observations on Post-COVID-19 Respiratory Symptoms: A Multivariable Analysis

Background: This cross-sectional study reports exploratory observations on respiratory symptom patterns in individuals with prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), evaluating associations with exercise habits, number of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection episodes, vaccine doses received, body mass index (BMI), age, sex, and comorbidities. Methods: A total of 240 participants were assessed for age, sex, height, weight, BMI, comorbidities, SARS-CoV-2 infection episodes, vaccine doses received, and exercise habits; the self-reported duration of symptomatic periods was summarized descriptively and was not modeled as an exposure or outcome. Results: Compared with the first SARS-CoV-2 infection episode (reference), patients who experienced a second episode had higher odds of dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio; OR = 7.61; 95% confidence interval CI = 1.54–37.66). In univariate analysis, patients who received three vaccine doses had lower odds of dyspnea than those who received two doses (OR = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.16–0.98), but this association was not significant after adjustment (adjusted OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.13–1.63). After adjustment, patients who exercised had lower odds of secretion compared with those who did not (adjusted OR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.12–0.73). Conclusions: These cross-sectional, hypothesis-generating observations suggest higher adjusted odds of dyspnea among individuals with repeat infection and lower adjusted odds of sputum among those reporting regular exercise; estimates are imprecise and subject to residual confounding due to unbalanced group sizes. Confirmation in larger, longitudinal cohorts is required.