Prevalência de sintomas da síndrome Pós-covid no Sertão Paraibano

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the prevalence of symptoms of Post-Covid syndrome in individuals living in Teixeira and Matureia, cities in the backlands of Paraíba. The relevance is justified by the scarcity of studies related to post-Covid syndrome in inland regions of underdeveloped countries.To identify the prevalence of symptoms of Post-COVID syndrome in individuals living in the city of Teixeira and Matureia and compare their frequency in relation to gender and perception of quality of life. Method: A cross-sectional, observational, and population-based study was carried out from January 2023 to March 2024 with patients who sought health care in the Xô Amerê extension project linked to the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB).256 patients with a previous diagnosis of covid were interviewed, of which 84 (33%) had post-covid symptoms. Based on the data, it was possible to verify that more than half of the studied population presented symptoms of dyspnea (60.71%), fatigue (59.52%) and cough (61.90%). And, that one in five individuals presented symptoms such as myalgia (27.16%), dysgeusia (25.00%) and anosmia (21.43%). Regarding gender, women who reported a worsening of their quality of life were more susceptible to fatigue (91.30%), myalgia (34.78%), palpitation (13.04%) and worsening of sleep (43.48%), while men, who perceived a worsening of their quality of life, were more affected by myalgia (56.25%). Conclusion: There was a statistically significant relationship between the prevalence of symptoms of myalgia, fatigue, palpitation and worsening of sleep and the perception of a worsening of quality of life in the group of women. It was also concluded that the perception of a worsening of quality of life in men is associated with a higher prevalence of myalgia, and other symptoms do not show the same association. No direct relationship was identified between the symptoms of post- COVID syndrome and the gender of the individuals. Finally, there is an indication that there is a higher prevalence of symptoms in relation to the symptoms of post-COVID syndrome in individuals from the backlands of Paraíba when compared to other studies already carried out with individuals from large European and American urban centers.