Differences in treatment and post-COVID symptoms in elderly and young patients: a cross-sectional study
Differences in treatment and post-COVID symptoms in elderly and young patients: a cross-sectional study

Summary/Abstract: Background: Long COVID is of particular concern among older people, who are at greater risk than younger people for persisting symptoms associated with COVID-19. In addition, COVID-19 might trigger or exacerbate chronic conditions that occur commonly in older people, such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and others. Aim of the study: This study aimed to investigate the differences in treatment types and post-COVID symptoms in elderly versus young patients. Material and methods: Alternative, non-parametric, and correlation analyses were used. Logical units of observation: Two hundred patients suffered from COVID-19 in the period from 01.09.2021 until 01.09.2022. Results: The majority of those examined were women - 58.5%. Age turned out to be a key factor in the disease. As age increases, cardiac complaints also increase p = 0.001 (χ2 = 79.51). The correlation relationship was straight and significant, p = 0.001 (r = 0.619). In the studied group, “shortness of breath” was more often experienced by the elderly group compared to young patients p = 0.001 (χ2 = 17.90), p = 0.001(r = 0.278). Regarding the symptoms of “hair loss” and fatigue, gender was found to have a key role in women (p = 0.001, χ2 = 5.04; p = 0.001, χ2 = 9.60, respectively). The analysis of our study shows that the majority were treated on an outpatient basis, and the rest - 29.5% - received their treatment in a hospital. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study underscores the multifaceted nature of post-COVID recovery, influenced by demographic factors, vaccination status, and the presence of comorbidities.

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