Fatigue in hospitalized versus non-hospitalized individuals following COVID-19

Background Post-COVID-19 fatigue is the most prevalent symptom among people who have overcome the disease, whether they were hospitalized or not. The aim was to analyze fatigue in subjects who had experienced COVID-19, with or without hospitalization, compared to their pre-infection status. We also sought to examine the relationship between descriptive characteristics of subjects and various holistic health indicators with the presence or absence of fatigue, as well as the fatigue severity. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was carried out following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guideline. Subjects were classified into 2 groups: hospitalized and non-hospitalized. Both groups were divided into 2 subgroups based on the absence or presence of fatigue: non-fatigue and fatigue. Descriptive characteristics, fatigue before versus after COVID-19, and holistic health indicators were measured. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Results A total of 262 subjects were divided into hospitalized (n = 70) and non-hospitalized (n = 192) groups and non-fatigue and fatigue subgroups. Results showed increased fatigue after COVID-19 in both groups, with hospitalized subjects experiencing more fatigue ( p < .001). Before COVID-19, neither group exceeds the cut-off point for fatigue, but after the disease, the hospitalized group surpassed it. Hospitalization and body mass index (BMI) emerged as key predictors of the presence of post-COVID-19 fatigue. In addition, post-COVID-19 fatigue was associated with poorer quality of life, health status, functionality, and physical activity, as well as greater frailty, anxiety, depression, and dysphagia. Functionality and frailty were the most relevant predictors of post-COVID-19 fatigue. Conclusions These findings underscore the need for personalized rehabilitation strategies that address both descriptive characteristics and holistic health indicators. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to validate and expand upon these results.