Changes in Physical and Mental Functions in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease During the First Two Waves of COVID-19 in Japan

Abstract

Background and objectives: The goal of this study was to determine whether changes in life-space mobility and quality of life (QoL) recovered in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) during the first two waves of the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan.

Methods: We performed a follow-up survey in 20 CVD patients using the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) scale and the five-level EuroQoL five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), Japanese version, at three time points: January-March 2020 (before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic), July 2020 (following the first wave of the pandemic), and November 2020 (following the second wave of the pandemic).

Results: The LSA score in November 2020 (median [interquartile range], 90 [83.5-100] points) did not recover from the July 2020 score (83 [76.5-93] points). However, the EQ-5D-5L QoL score in November 2020 (0.89 [0.82-1]) had improved from that in July 2020 (0.80 [0.71-0.87]).

Conclusion: The QoL of CVD patients might have been more affected by psychological factors rather than physical factors during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cardiovascular disease; infection; life-space mobility; pandemic; quality of life.