ABSTRACT
Background: The long-term issues faced by COVID-19 survivors remain unclear. Symptoms
may persist for several months, even in non-hospitalized patients, probably impacting the quality of
life. Objective: To assess the health-related quality of life of outpatients one year after SARS-CoV-2
infection. Design, Settings, and Participants: This prospective multicentre study, conducted in France
from February 2020 to February 2022, compared 150 COVID-19 cases (PCR+ and/or CT scan+) and
260 controls (PCR-) selected from a database of four COVID centres. Main outcomes: Health-related
quality of life assessed using the EQ-5D-5L scale. Results: COVID-19 outpatients (n = 96) had
significantly lower health-related quality of life than controls (n = 81) one year after SARS-CoV-2
infection: the EQ-5D-5L index averaged 0.87 in cases and 0.95 in controls (p = 0.002); the EQ- VAS
averaged 78 in cases and 86.7 in controls (p < 0.001). This alteration in quality of life was more intense
in the areas of pain or discomfort and daily activities. Conclusions: This study is the first to show
an alteration in the quality of life of COVID-19 outpatients after one year. Appropriate guidance
and community rehabilitation programs are required for outpatients with persistent symptoms of
COVID-19. Research must continue to confirm these results in larger cohorts.
KEYWORDS
COVID-19; long COVID outpatients; quality of life