Alghamdi Mushabab, Alaklabi Sami Mohammed A, Alshmrani Saud G, Alamri Yaser Mohammed D, Alamri Turki A, Alaklabi Turki M, Alharethi Sultan Saber Z, Alalyani Salem Mohammed K, E Adam Masoud I
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Bisha, Bisha, SAU.
College of Medicine, University of Bisha, Bisha, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Jul 15;16(7):e64582. doi: 10.7759/cureus.64582. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Background Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PC19S) is an emerging pathological entity characterized by the development or persistence of a spectrum of symptoms and signs 12 weeks after the original disease. Most COVID-19 patients show a variety of persistent symptoms after recovery that impact their quality of life and professional performance. The prevalence of PC19S is found to be high among many populations hence, the need for knowledge and understanding of its risk factors, symptoms, and the awareness of the population about them to improve the provided health and medical care. Aim This study aims to assess the level of awareness of post-COVID-19 syndrome among the general population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Most studies have focused on hospitalized patients and those with severe disease, but PC19S can exist in other categories of COVID-19 patients; hence, the need for total population coverage. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period between June 2023 and August 2023 using a structured self-administered online questionnaire. The online questionnaire in addition to the demographic characteristics consists of two main parts, one is about the awareness of the Saudi population of symptoms of PC19S and the other is about awareness of its risk factors. Results The majority of the participants (1558; 72.4%) showed low awareness of PC19S symptoms while only about one quarter (595; 27.6%) showed satisfactory awareness. Also, the awareness of the participants toward risk factors was low, as 1738 (80.7%) of them showed low awareness. We categorized the results into three levels of awareness to simplify and facilitate interpretation. The findings showed that 1380 individuals (64.09%) had low awareness of PC19S, 536 individuals (24.89%) had moderate awareness, and only 237 individuals (11%) had high awareness. The study reported that the highest awareness toward symptoms was of smell disturbances (1206; 56.0%) and the least was of hair loss (506; 23.5%) while among the risk factors, the highest was found toward old age 1326 (61.6%) and the female sex was the lowest 194 (9.0%). Conclusion The study revealed that the majority of the participants demonstrated low awareness of symptoms and risk factors, which needs a continuous effort to raise the population's awareness of this health-threatening condition.
新冠后综合征（PC19S）是一种新出现的病理实体，其特征是在原发病12周后出现一系列症状和体征并持续存在。大多数新冠患者康复后会出现各种持续症状，影响他们的生活质量和职业表现。研究发现，PC19S在许多人群中的患病率很高，因此需要了解其危险因素、症状以及民众对它们的认知，以改善所提供的卫生和医疗保健。目的：本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）普通民众对新冠后综合征的认知水平。大多数研究都集中在住院患者和重症患者身上，但PC19S也可能存在于其他类型的新冠患者中；因此，需要覆盖全体人群。方法：在2023年6月至2023年8月期间进行了一项横断面研究，使用结构化的自填式在线问卷。该在线问卷除了人口统计学特征外，还包括两个主要部分，一部分是关于沙特民众对PC19S症状的认知，另一部分是关于对其危险因素的认知。结果：大多数参与者（1558人；72.4%）对PC19S症状的认知较低，而只有约四分之一（595人；27.6%）的认知令人满意。此外，参与者对危险因素的认知也较低，其中1738人（80.7%）认知较低。我们将结果分为三个认知水平，以简化和便于解读。结果显示，1380人（64.09%）对PC19S的认知较低，536人（24.89%）认知中等，只有237人（11%）认知较高。该研究报告称，对症状认知最高的是嗅觉障碍（1206人；56.0%），最低的是脱发（506人；23.5%）；而在危险因素方面，认知最高的是老年（1326人；占61.6%），最低的是女性（194人；占9.0%）。结论：该研究表明，大多数参与者对症状和危险因素的认知较低，需要持续努力提高民众对这种威胁健康状况的认知。
