Relationship between functional capacity and reduced lung function in adults with long Covid: Sulcovid-19 Survey

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Abelardo de Oliveira Soares Junior
Yohana Pereira Vieira
Juliana Quadros Santos Rocha
Eduardo Lucia Caputo
Suele Manjourany Silva Duro
Rodrigo César Zoppellaro Reis
Priscila Aikawa
Mirelle de Oliveira Saes

Abstract

Introduction: Studies on lung capacity and functionality in people recovering from COVID-19 often focus on hospitalized patients and/or those who underwent mechanical ventilation, while research on mild cases of the disease is less common. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between functional capacity and reduced lung function in adults with long COVID. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The dependent variables were peripheral muscle strength, balance, functional mobility, exertional dyspnea, and reduced lung function as the exposure variable. The relationship between peripheral muscle strength, balance, and the independent variable was assessed. Poisson regression models with robust variance adjustment were used to calculate the crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and p-values. To analyze the association between functional mobility, exertional dyspnea, and the independent variable, linear regression was applied, both crude and adjusted, to calculate the β coefficient with corresponding 95% CIs and p-values. A significance level of 5% was adopted for two-tailed tests. Results: Individuals with reduced lung function were 2.69 times more likely (95% CI: 1.45-4.97) to have reduced peripheral muscle strength and 2.85 times more likely (95% CI: 1.29-6.30) to have reduced balance. Functional mobility decreased by an average of -2.85 points (95% CI: -4.66 to -1.04), while exertional dyspnea increased by 1.46 points (95% CI: 0.68-2.24) in people with reduced lung function. Conclusion: Individuals with mild acute infection and no pre-existing comorbidities experienced reduced lung function associated with decreased functional capacity.

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Soares Junior, A. de O., Vieira, Y. P., Rocha, J. Q. S., Caputo, E. L., Duro, S. M. S., Reis, R. C. Z., … Saes , M. de O. (2026). Relationship between functional capacity and reduced lung function in adults with long Covid: Sulcovid-19 Survey. ABCS Health Sciences. https://doi.org/10.7322/abcshs.2024168.2909
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