Functional Capacity Impairment in Long COVID After 17 Months of Severe Acute Disease, 2025, Borges

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/2/276

Open Access
Article
Functional Capacity Impairment in Long COVID After 17 Months of Severe Acute Disease
by
Fernanda Facioli dos Reis Borges
1,
Andrezza Cristina Barbosa Braga
2,
Bernardo Silva Viana
3,
Jefferson Valente
4,
João Marcos Bemfica
4,
Thaís Sant’Anna
2,
Cássia da Luz Goulart
5,
Fernando Almeida-Val
6and
Guilherme Peixoto Tinoco Arêas
7,*


1
Human Movement Science Graduation Program, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 6200, Brazil
2
Physical Therapy Department, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 6200, Brazil
3
Medicine Department, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 6200, Brazil
4
Tropical Medicine Graduation Program, Universidade Estadual do Amazonas, Manaus 3578, Brazil
5
Physical Therapy Department, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Ceilandia, Brasília 72220-275, Brazil
6
Tropical Medicine Foundation Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus 69040-000, Brazil
7
Physiological Science Department, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 6200, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(2), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020276
Submission received: 9 October 2024 / Revised: 3 January 2025 / Accepted: 5 February 2025 / Published: 13 February 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Fitness and Exercise during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic)
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Abstract

Long COVID represents a significant challenge in understanding the prolonged impact of the disease.

Despite its increasing recognition, detailed insights into the long-term cardiopulmonary consequences remain sparse.

This study aimed to evaluate the functional capacity of individuals with persistent symptoms after severe COVID-19 infection compared to control individuals without symptomatic COVID or mild COVID after 17 months.

This is a case-control study assessing 34 individuals divided into two groups regarding functional capacity by distance in a 6-min walk test (D6MWT) associated with gas analysis, spirometry, respiratory muscle strength, and quality of life.

During the 6 MWT, an important lower heart rate (HR) was observed for the COVID group (106 ± 10 bpm, difference mean: 21.3; p < 0.001), with greater exertional perception (Borg dyspnea: 4.5 [2.0–9.0], p < 0.001 and Borg fatigue: 4.0 [2.0–7.0], p = 0.01), a significant decrease in the distance covered (416 ± 94 m, difference mean: 107; p = 0.002), and a low value of O2 uptake (V O2) (11 ± 5.0 mL/(kg min), difference mean: 8.3; p = 0.005) and minute ventilation (22 ± 8 L/min, difference mean: 18.6; p = 0.002), in addition to very low quality of life scores.

Regression analysis showed a significant association between D6MWT and Borg fatigue and Borg dyspnea at rest (p = 0.003; p = 0.009). VO2 and HR were also significantly
associated with the outcomes of the D6MWT (p = 0.04 and p = 0.004, respectively).

In conclusion, individuals who have severe COVID-19 and persist with symptoms have low
functional capacity, low V O2, low HR behavior, and low quality of life.

Keywords:
post-acute COVID-19 syndrome; walk test; functional capacity; oxygen consumption; quality of life