Exercise tolerance, fatigue, mental health and employment status at 5 and 12 months following COVID-19 illness in physically trained population, 2023

Abstract

Background: Failure to recover following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) may have a profound impact on individuals who participate in high intensity/volume exercise as part of their occupation/recreation.

Aim: To describe the longitudinal cardiopulmonary exercise function, fatigue and mental health status of military-trained individuals (up to 12-months post-infection) who feel recovered, and those with persistent symptoms from two acute disease severity groups (hospitalized and community-managed), compared with an age, sex and job-role matched control.

Methods: 88 participants underwent cardiopulmonary functional tests at baseline (5-months following acute illness) and 12-months; 25 hospitalized with persistent symptoms (hospitalized-symptomatic), 6 hospitalized and recovered (hospitalized-recovered); 28 community-managed with persistent symptoms (community-symptomatic); 12 community-managed, now recovered (community-recovered), and 17 controls.

Results: Cardiopulmonary exercise function and mental health status were comparable between the 5 and 12-months follow-up. At 12-months, symptoms of fatigue (48% and 46%) and shortness of breath (52% and 43%) remain high in hospitalized-symptomatic and community-symptomatic groups, respectively. At 12-months, COVID-19-exposed participants had a reduced capacity for work at anaerobic threshold and at peak exercise levels of deconditioning persist, with many individuals struggling to return to strenuous activity. The prevalence considered 'fully fit' at 12-months was lowest in symptomatic groups (hospitalized-symptomatic, 4%; hospitalized-recovered, 50%; community-symptomatic, 18%; community-recovered, 82%; control, 82%) and 49% of COVID-19-exposed participants remained medically non-deployable within the British Armed Forces.

Conclusion: For hospitalized and symptomatic individuals, cardiopulmonary exercise profiles are consistent with impaired metabolic efficiency and deconditioning at 12-months post-acute illness. The long-term deployability status of COVID-19-exposed military personnel is uncertain.

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/japplphysiol.00370.2022

 

Fit people go on being ill it seems.
Certainly my experience.

It may not be directly relevant to ME. I don't seem to have PEM, for instance. But I suspect that there is some common factor involved even if not.

Military personnel may be an atypical group but they may also be a useful group to illustrate the point.

 

Oh no! Sorry to hear that.

Yes. Not what people associate with the most commonly used stock images for articles on LC and ME/CFS.

 

No mention of PEM in the entire study.