Smartphone-based evaluation of static balance and mobility in long-lasting COVID-19 patients

Bruna Danielle Campelo Corrêa; Enzo Gabriel Rocha Santos; Anderson Belgamo; Gustavo Henrique Lima Pinto; Stanley Soares Xavier; Camilla Costa Silva; Ápio Ricardo Nazareth Dias; Alna Carolina Mendes Paranhos; André Dos Santos Cabral; Bianca Callegari; Anselmo de Athayde Costa E Silva; Juarez Antônio Simões Quaresma; Luiz Fábio Magno Falcão; Givago Silva Souza

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1277408

Smartphone-based evaluation of static balance and mobility in long-lasting COVID-19 patients

Front Neurol. 2023 Dec 11:14:1277408. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1277408. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Bruna Danielle Campelo Corrêa¹, Enzo Gabriel Rocha Santos², Anderson Belgamo³, Gustavo Henrique Lima Pinto², Stanley Soares Xavier⁴, Camilla Costa Silva⁴, Ápio Ricardo Nazareth Dias⁴, Alna Carolina Mendes Paranhos^{4

5}, André Dos Santos Cabral⁴, Bianca Callegari⁶, Anselmo de Athayde Costa E Silva⁷, Juarez Antônio Simões Quaresma^{4

8}, Luiz Fábio Magno Falcão⁴, Givago Silva Souza^{5

9}

Affiliations

¹ Núcleo de Teoria e Pesquisa do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
² Instituto de Ciências e Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
³ Instituto Federal de São Paulo, Rio Claro, Brazil.
⁴ Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
⁵ Núcleo de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
⁶ Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
⁷ Instituto de Ciências da Educação, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.
⁸ School of Medicine, São Paulo University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁹ Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to a variety of persistent sequelae, collectively known as long COVID-19. Deficits in postural balance have been reported in patients several months after COVID-19 infection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the static balance and balance of individuals with long COVID-19 using inertial sensors in smartphones.

Methods: A total of 73 participants were included in this study, of which 41 had long COVID-19 and 32 served as controls. All participants in the long COVID-19 group reported physical complaints for at least 7 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Participants were evaluated using a built-in inertial sensor of a smartphone attached to the low back, which recorded inertial signals during a static balance and mobility task (timed up and go test). The parameters of static balance and mobility obtained from both groups were compared.

Results: The groups were matched for age and BMI. Of the 41 participants in the long COVID-19 group, 22 reported balance impairment and 33 had impaired balance in the Sharpened Romberg test. Static balance assessment revealed that the long COVID-19 group had greater postural instability with both eyes open and closed than the control group. In the TUG test, the long COVID-19 group showed greater acceleration during the sit-to-stand transition compared to the control group.

Conclusion: The smartphone was feasible to identify losses in the balance motor control and mobility of patients with long-lasting symptomatic COVID-19 even after several months or years. Attention to the balance impairment experienced by these patients could help prevent falls and improve their quality of life, and the use of the smartphone can expand this monitoring for a broader population.

Keywords: inertial sensors; long COVID-19; mobility; postural balance; smartphone.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by research grants from the Brazilian funding agencies: Programa de Apoio à Publicação Qualificada from Federal University of Pará. ES is a CNPQ/UFPA undergraduate fellow. GS is CNPq Fellow and receive productivity grant (protocol #408288/2022-1). BC is a post-graduation Fellow (No. 102167/2022-2). The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report, or the decision to submit for publication.