Observational study on the benefit of a nutritional supplement, supporting immune function and energy metabolism, on chronic fatigue associated with the SARS-CoV-2 post-infection progress

Background & aims: Recent studies have verified that the SARS-CoV-2 infection (from December 2019 has affected 123 million people throughout the world and more than 3 million people in Italy), can have medium-term and long-term effects, collectively referred to as “post-Covid syndrome” or “long-Covid” characterized by chronic fatigue, followed by muscle weakness, dyspnea and headache. Chronic fatigue or chronic tiredness is a persistent symptom both in patients who have experienced a severe infection and in those who have experienced a mild form of infection. Studies conducted on both patients discharged from hospital and patients managed at home showed that there was no association between the severity of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the subsequent chronic fatigue symptom. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of a nutritional supplement based on vitamins, minerals, amino acids and plant extracts (Apportal®) intake, to ameliorate the general health status in particular the chronic fatigue symptom in subjects after SARS-CoV-2 negativity. Methods: Participants were advised to take one sachet daily of Apportal® for 28 consecutive days. At the beginning (T0), after 14 days (T1) and after 28 days (T2) of supplementation, general fatigue, mental fatigue and Quality of Life indexes were evaluated through specific questionnaires. The assessment of quality of life and health status were measured through the EuroQoL-5D questionnaire, chronic fatigue using the FACIT-Fatigue questionnaire and mental fatigue using the modified Chalder questionnaire. Results: 201 subjects were enrolled for the study; results showed a significant improvement in all indexes analyzed after 14 and 28 days of supplementation. The main significant improvement was observed after the first 14 days and it was further confirmed at 28 days as well. The RTE (Relative Treatment Effect) trend about quality of life, health status, FACIT-Fatigue and mental fatigue in the three questionnaires was statistically significant (Wald Statistic, p < 0.0001). The data of FACIT-questionnaire showed an improvement of at least 1 unit in 76.62% of subjects after 14 days and in 90.05% of subjects after 28 days. An improvement of 10-unit was found in about one third of subjects after 14 days and in half of the subjects after 28 days. Conclusions: This study shows that Apportal® can reduce chronic fatigue and improve quality of life and health status in subjects after SARS-CoV-2 negativity due to the synergistic effect of its components.