MARKIZ study: screening for post-COVID-19 syndrome using a questionnaire to identify symptoms and risk factors for noncommunicable diseases

Aim. To provide data on the diagnostic and prognostic value of questionnaire survey for post-COVID-19 syndrome during screening and regular medical check-ups of employees, as well as preventive medical examinations.

Material and methods. This single-center cross-sectional comparative study involved 1120 people (92,1% of the general population — all employees of the organization), including 195 men (67,3% of the general population) and 925 women (79,5% of the general population). All participants filled out the post-COVID-19 syndrome (PS) detection questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the QAA-25p Adherence Assessment Questionnaire. Potential adherence to treatment was calculated using the SCOPA software. Statistical processing was performed using tools adapted for medical and biomedical research (Python language; Sklearn, NumPy, Pandas libraries) and Statistica 6.13 (StatSoft Inc., USA).

Results. As a result, 47% of respondents noted at least one symptom that reduces the quality of life and/or performance efficacy. In all subsamples, women reported symptoms more frequently than men. The most informative indicators associated with post-COVID-19 syndrome are age (Mann-Whitney U test, p=0,042), number of PS symptoms (Mann-Whitney U test, p=0,001), severity of PS symptom (Mann-Whitney U test, p= 0,004) and adherence to health care (Kruskal-Wallis H test, p=0,021). An increased level of anxiety is associated with all the analyzed symptoms, depression level with 6 symptoms, age with 5 symptoms, insufficient compliance with 3 symptoms.

Conclusion. PS questionnaire should be included in a comprehensive survey program of persons undergoing medical examinations. It is necessary to develop algorithms for the treatment and diagnosis of patients that take into account the number and severity of individual symptoms separately for men and women with consideration to their COVID-19 epidemiological status, as well as age and markers of anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment.

Questionnaire for quantitative assessment of treatment adherence: modification for adolescents aged 15–17 years, validation, and reliability assessment

In Russia, the QAA-25 questionnaire is used to quantify the adherence to treatment of adult patients. The accumulated experience of its use made it possible to identify several cohorts of respondents, including adolescents, whose characteristics required special adaptation of the formulations of a number of questions.

Purpose. The study aimed at modifying the questionnaire for quantitative assessment of treatment adherence QAA-25 for adolescents aged 15–17 years and evaluate it according to the criteria of validity and the measure of consent.

Material and methods. In a descriptive one-stage study with the participation of 108 high school students at secondary schools in Omsk, the level of adherence to treatment was determined according to the QAA-25 scale, using traditional and alternative formulations of individual questions, with the formation of a modified scale and an assessment of its constructive and factor validity and a measure of consent.

Results. Applying various options for testing alternative questions, the possibility and expediency of using them to assess the adherence to treatment of adolescents, including separately evaluated subsamples of male and female individuals, was shown. 94% of respondents rated alternative questions as “more acceptable,» 5% of respondents «did not notice significant differences,» and 1% of respondents rated them as «less acceptable.» The QAA-25 scale modified for adolescents demonstrated good structural and internal validity (α = 0.818, αst = 0.857), with high reliability (consistent exclusion of scale items preserves the validity of the questionnaire in the range of 0.793–0.858) and almost perfect agreement (κ = 1.000).

Conclusion. The modified QAA-25 questionnaire is recommended to be used to assess the adherence to treatment and potential adherence to treatment of adolescents who have reached the age of 15 but have not reached the age of 18, both for research purposes and when making decisions related to the provision of medical care and the organization of preventive measures.