Systemic impact of the post-Coronavirus disease syndrome in Brazil: Impacto sistêmico da síndrome da doença pós-Coronavírus no Brasil

Background: Symptom persistence following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been recognized as the post-coronavirus disease (post-COVID-19) syndrome. We aimed to assess the long-term sequelae of COVID-19 in a local Brazilian population, and to identify risk factors for the onset and severity of this syndrome.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary-care hospital. Participants who had recovered from COVID-19 underwent a clinical evaluation and completed a questionnaire on post-COVID-19 symptoms that they had experienced.Results: In a sample of 141 patients, the most prominent post-COVID-19 symptoms were associated with the cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological systems. Participants aged over 40 years had a significantly higher mean number of symptoms than those aged 40 years or younger (14.6 vs. 11.1). Patients with more severe disease in the acute phase, had significantly more symptoms than those with mild or moderate disease. Most post-COVID-19 symptoms were associated with diabetes mellitus (21.8) and renal failure (21.8), but without a significant difference in the number of associated symptoms according to the presence of preexisting comorbidities.Conclusions: Post-COVID-19 syndrome was more common and comprised more symptoms in participants aged over 40 years and in participants with severe disease during the acute phase. Future studies should assess the duration of post-COVID-19 syndrome symptoms and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on post-COVID-19 syndrome