Decreased physical performance despite objective and subjective maximal exhaustion in post-COVID-19 individuals with fatigue

European Journal of Medical Research

Research

Shirin Vollrath¹  Jana Schellenberg¹  Daniel A. Bizjak¹  Johannes Kirsten¹  Jürgen M. Steinacker¹  Lynn Matits² 

[1] Division of Sports and Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Medicine, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany;Division of Sports and Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Medicine, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany;Division of Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany;

关键词: Post-COVID-19;    Fatigue;    Physical exhaustion;    Long COVID;    COVID CPET;    Physical exercise;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40001-023-01274-5

 received in 2023-06-20, accepted in 2023-08-08,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionFatigue is a common symptom in post-COVID-19 patients. Individuals with fatigue often perform less well compared to healthy peers or without fatigue. It is not yet clear to what extent fatigue is related to the inability to reach maximum exhaustion during physical exercise.MethodsA symptom-based questionnaire based on the Carruthers guidelines (2003) was used for reporting the presence of fatigue and further symptoms related to COVID-19 from 85 participants (60.0% male, 33.5 ± 11.9 years). Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and lactate measurement at the end of the test were conducted. Objective and subjective exhaustion criteria according to Wasserman of physically active individuals with fatigue (FS) were compared to those without fatigue (NFS).ResultsDifferences between FS and NFS were found in Peak V̇O2/BM (p < 0.001) and Max Power/BM (p < 0.001). FS were more likely to suffer from further persistent symptoms (p < 0.05). The exhaustion criterion Max. lactate was reached significantly more often by NFS individuals.ConclusionAlthough the aerobic performance (Max Power/BM) and the metabolic rate (Peak V̇O2/BM and Max. lactate) of FS were lower compared to NFS, they were equally able to reach objective exhaustion criteria. The decreased number of FS who reached the lactate criteria and the decreased V̇O2 peak indicates a change in metabolism. Other persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms besides fatigue may also impair performance, trainability and the ability to reach objective exhaustion.Trial registration Trial registration: DRKS00023717; date of registration: 15.06.2021 (retrospectively registered).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5