BACKGROUND : Tamil Nadu witnessed three pandemic peaks since the first COVID-19 case on March 7, 2020. Long-term effects, termed long COVID, persist with various symptoms and organ involvement. Despite the Indian government's guidelines, there's limited data on long COVID among survivors in India. This study was done to find the burden of post covid symptoms among individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 between March 2020 and February 2022 in Tamil Nadu, other than Chennai.
METHODS : A cross-sectional study in Tamil Nadu, excluding Chennai, was conducted among 1673 COVID-19 cases in June 2023 who were selected by stratified random sampling, stratified by age groups. Trained health staff gathered data using a semi-structured questionnaire, defining persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms as lasting more than 12 weeks. Data was entered in Excel and analysed using JASP software.
RESULTS : Among 1673 patients approached, 380 participants could not be contacted even after multiple attempts. Among the rest 1293 patients, seventy three patients(5.6%) were reported to have died. The overall prevalence of persistent post Covid symptoms was 21.3%(95% CI -19.04% - 23.72%). The most common symptom reported was loss of appetite and persistent fatigue. there is no significant association between gender, age group, pandemic wave, number of episodes of covid infection, covid vaccination and persistent post covid symptoms. However, hospitalisation, oxygen requirement, ventilatory support requirement, lung involvement and presence of any comorbidities was significantly associated with persistent post covid syndrome.
CONCLUSION : Targeted interventions for individuals with a history of severe COVID-19, pre-existing comorbidities, and specific post-COVID complications, healthcare systems can better support the holistic recovery and well-being of those affected by the long-term effects of the virus.