Characterization of clinical set of symptoms in young adults (18–44 years old) with post-COVID syndrome

Objective. To study the structure of clinical set of symptoms in post-COVID syndrome among young adults (18–44 years old).

Materials and methods. The study included 263 patients at the ages from 18 to 44 years old recovered from COVID-19 in 2020-2024 with duration of symptoms more than three months. All participants were proposed to fill a validated “Post-COVID-19 Health Self-Assessment Questionnaire”. A statistical analysis included assessment of symptom burden, pairwise and multiple combinations of the set of symptoms, as well as calculation of conditional probabilities and correlation coefficients. Data processing were done using StatTech v.4.8.5 and Python 3.12.

Results. Women accounted for 69,2% (n=182) in the studied group of patients with post-COVID syndrome (n=263).

A high level of multisystem manifestation was observed, with an average of 4,7 ± 2,1 set of symptoms per one patient. The most frequent sets of symptoms were neurological (86.3%), cardiovascular (61.2%), and otolaryngological (60.8%) ones. Polysystem forms (≥4 sets of symptoms) were identified in 72.6% of patients, and extensive multisystemity (≥6) in 38.4%. Women demonstrated a significantly higher symptoms burden than men (p<0.001). Stable symptom combinations were commonly observed, particularly those involving neurological and psycho-emotional components (r=0.321; p<0.05).

Conclusion. Post-COVID syndrome in young adults is characterised by a high degree of multisystem involvement, with neurological and cardiovascular symptoms predominating. These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to diagnosis and rehabilitation, even in a relatively safe age group.

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