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Quality of Life in COVID-19 Outpatients: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

Vincent Tarazona 1 , David Kirouchena 1,*, Pascal Clerc 1,2, Florence Pinsard-Laventure 1 and Bastien Bourrion 1

V. Tarazona, D. Kirouchena, P. Clerc, F. Pinsard-Laventure and B. Bourrion, Quality of Life in COVID-19 Outpatients: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study, J Clin Med 2022 Vol. 11 Issue 21

1 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences Simone Veil,
University Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), 78180 Montigny le Bretonneux, France
2 Clinical Epidemiology and Ageing Unit, University Paris-Est Creteil (UPEC), 94000 Créteil, France
3 Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, French National Institute of Health and Medical
Research (INSERM), University Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Paul-Brousse Hospital, 94800 Villejuif, France
* Correspondence: kirouchena@protonmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: The long-term issues faced by COVID-19 survivors remain unclear. Symptoms
may persist for several months, even in non-hospitalized patients, probably impacting the quality of
life. Objective: To assess the health-related quality of life of outpatients one year after SARS-CoV-2
infection. Design, Settings, and Participants: This prospective multicentre study, conducted in France
from February 2020 to February 2022, compared 150 COVID-19 cases (PCR+ and/or CT scan+) and
260 controls (PCR-) selected from a database of four COVID centres. Main outcomes: Health-related
quality of life assessed using the EQ-5D-5L scale. Results: COVID-19 outpatients (n = 96) had
significantly lower health-related quality of life than controls (n = 81) one year after SARS-CoV-2
infection: the EQ-5D-5L index averaged 0.87 in cases and 0.95 in controls (p = 0.002); the EQ- VAS
averaged 78 in cases and 86.7 in controls (p < 0.001). This alteration in quality of life was more intense
in the areas of pain or discomfort and daily activities. Conclusions: This study is the first to show
an alteration in the quality of life of COVID-19 outpatients after one year. Appropriate guidance
and community rehabilitation programs are required for outpatients with persistent symptoms of
COVID-19. Research must continue to confirm these results in larger cohorts.

KEYWORDS

 COVID-19; long COVID outpatients; quality of life