Resumo:
Introduction: chikungunya typically manifests with fever and arthralgia that can persist for
months to years. The permanence of joint pain for long periods can cause inability to perform
daily activities. AIM: to describe the quality of life, mental health and impact on work of
persistent arthralgia in patients with chikungunya. Methodology: between June 2019 and
March 2020, a surveillance study for febrile and acute rash illnesses identified patients with
laboratory evidence (qRT-PCR or Elisa IgM) of chikungunya virus infection in an Emergency
Care Unit in Salvador - Bahia. Between October 2021 and January 2022, identified cases aged
≥ 18 years were interviewed by telephone to collect data on persistence of arthralgia and its
impact. Participants who reported joint pain for ≥90 days were classified as having persistent
arthralgia and the others without persistent arthralgia. To assess quality of life, the general
question about self-assessment of health from the SF-12 scale instrument was used, and to
assess mental health, questionnaires from the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales were applied. Closed
questions were used to assess work absenteeism. Relative and absolute frequencies, and
measures of central tendency and dispersion were calculated to describe participants and their
outcomes. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Instituto Gonçalo
Moniz. Results: of the 63 cases of chikungunya interviewed, 42 participants (66.7%) had
persistent arthralgia. Low level of quality of life was reported by 68.3% of those with persistent
arthralgia and by 30.0% of those without persistent arthralgia. Anxiety symptoms were reported
by 43.9% and 35.0% of those with and without persistent arthralgia, and symptoms of
depression by 24.4% and 5.0%, respectively. Leave from work occurred in 83.0% and 50.0%,
respectively. Conclusion: although the sample size limited the power to verify whether the
differences were statistically significant, the study reinforces the negative impact of
chikungunya on mental health, quality of life and work, highlighting the need for adequate
dimensioning of health services to guarantee psychological assistance and rehabilitation to
patients.
