Association between healthy lifestyles and post-COVID-19 syndrome among college students

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Post-COVID-19 syndrome still occurs in some populations. A healthy lifestyle is widely recognized as a first-line treatment to increase the body’s antiviral resistance and tissue repair, but it is unclear whether a healthy lifestyle can promote or alleviate the symptoms of post-COVID-19 syndrome. METHODS: A stratified random sampling method was used to select 498 participants from three universities in Fujian as the target of the questionnaire survey. The survey focused on students’ healthy lifestyles and the symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, dyspnea, and depression that are common in post-COVID-19 syndrome. RESULTS: Two months after developing COVID-19, some students continued to experience fatigue, anxiety, dyspnea, and depression, with fatigue being the most prominent symptom. The results of the study showed that there was a significant negative correlation (P < 0.01) between a healthy lifestyle and fatigue, anxiety, dyspnea, and depression among university students. Furthermore, when analyzing the different subdimensions of healthy lifestyles among university students, it was found that all dimensions showed varying degrees of negative correlation with fatigue, anxiety, dyspnea, and depression, except for health-related behaviors and interpersonal behaviors, which showed no relationship with fatigue (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: By improving healthy lifestyles, long-term COVID-19 symptoms can be reduced and improved and contribute positively to patient recovery, providing a viable rehabilitation option for long-term COVID-19 patients.