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Insights into COVID-19: Exploring Symptoms, Recovery Patterns, and Complications

Clarissa Estrada

AC2304597

MA260 Statistical Analysis I

Module 7 Assignment

March 12, 2024

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Abstract

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on a sample of 20 individuals comprising family

members, friends, and neighbors solicited partially through NextDoor, an application that keeps

the community informed about local news and current events. The survey collected data on

various aspects, including age, COVID-19 infection frequency, symptoms, recovery duration,

gender, exacerbation of preexisting conditions due to COVID-19, and knowledge of COVID-19-

related fatalities among acquaintances. Through descriptive analysis, the study aims to provide

insights into the demographic characteristics and experiences related to COVID-19 within the

surveyed population. Findings suggest diverse experiences with COVID-19 among the sampled

individuals, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of the pandemic's effects on individuals

and communities.
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Insights into COVID-19: Exploring Symptoms, Recovery Patterns, and Complications

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has had profound

implications globally, affecting approximately 662 million people in 2023 according to the WHO,

affecting individuals' health, livelihoods, and social interactions (WHO, 2023). Understanding

the outcomes and impacts of COVID-19 on those with preexisting conditions and those

dependent on the Western diet is crucial for developing effective public health strategies and

interventions in the event of another virus. This study explores the demographic characteristics

and experiences related to COVID-19 among a sample of 10 individuals comprising family

members, friends, and neighbors. By examining factors such as age, COVID-19 infection

frequency, symptoms, recovery duration, gender, exacerbation of preexisting conditions due to

COVID-19, and knowledge of COVID-19-related fatalities among acquaintances, this study seeks

to provide valuable insights into the varied effects of the pandemic within a small community

setting. Through descriptive analysis of survey data, this research contributes to the growing

body of knowledge on the multifaceted impacts of COVID-19. It informs efforts to mitigate its

effects on everyone especially those with preexisting symptoms that could potentially lead to

death.

Methods

The study design is cross-sectional, it involves the collection of data from a sample since

the study did not include all individuals within the population of interest but rather a specific

group chosen to participate. A post on NextDoor invited any neighbors to take part in a survey

about COVID to find out if COVID or its vaccines worsened preexisting symptoms. The study was

conducted through an online survey of 10 individuals comprised of neighbors who filled out an
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online invitation for a survey related to COVID and emailed a link to participate in the study.

Various questions such as age, COVID infection frequency, symptoms, recovery duration, gender,

exacerbation of preexisting conditions due to COVID, and knowledge of COVID-related fatalities

among acquaintances, were included in the study. The cross-sectional design allows researchers

to gather data from a diverse group of individuals and investigate their experiences related to

COVID. This design is appropriate for descriptive analysis and can provide valuable information

about the impact of the pandemic on the participants.

Results

Descriptive statistics serve to capture and outline the primary characteristics essential

within a dataset. In the context of your COVID survey, descriptive statistics can provide insights

into the characteristics and experiences of the individuals surveyed. The purpose of descriptive

statistics is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the data being researched (Monk, 2018).

In descriptive statistics, qualitative data enriches analysis by providing insights into nuances,

attitudes, and behaviors which enhances the validity and depth of findings. Quantitative data is

information that can be measured or expressed numerically (Monk, 2018). Quantitative data

provides numerical insights into various aspects of the survey which allows for statistical

analysis and comparison across different categories (Monk, 2018). Quantitative variables are

measurement texts or counts that can be either continuous or discrete data (Monk, 2018).

Continuous variables can take on values anywhere within an interval and are not restricted to

any list (Monk, 2018). Continuous variables can take an infinite number of values between any

two points. These variables are graphed on a continuous scale using a graph or a number line

(Monk, 2018). Age is a continuous variable because it can take on any value within a range and
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be measured with precision using decimals (Monk, 2018). The measurement of recovery time in

days or hours is also a continuous variable. Discrete variables can be represented by integers or

whole numbers can be listed and the list may be infinite (Monk, 2018). The discrete data in this

research is the number of times they contracted COVID, twenty-three; the number of people

whose preexisting conditions worsened, three; and the number of people who know someone

who died from COVID or COVID-related vaccines or boosters, twenty-one in total.

Qualitative data is non-numerical information that is descriptive and one whose possible

values can be listed (Monk, 2018). Qualitative variables, called categorical variables, place items

in categories (Monk, 2018). In this study, the qualitative data is age, gender, and symptoms.

Qualitative data, collected through interviews and observations, offer nuanced insights into

attitudes and behaviors in descriptive statistics, enhancing understanding alongside quantitative

measures. In this study, the quantitative data is the twenty-three times the participants

contracted COVID, and the total time to recover was 170 days. Other quantitative data is the

two participants who reported having complications after contracting COVID. Three participants

reported experiencing a worsening of preexisting conditions after contracting COVID. All ten

participants reported a total of twenty-one people whose preexisting worsened severely or died

from contracting covid or receiving a vaccine. The bar graph shows that six females contracted

COVID fifteen times in total and four males contracted COVID eight times in total.
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Sum of COVID TIMES by Gender

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10

0
F M

Qualitative variables can be either ordinal or nominal (Monk, 2018). Ordinal data can be

ordered or ranked with significance and presented and summarized with proportions,

percentages, pie charts, bar charts, or frequency tables. The ordinal data of this study is present

in age and gender, ranked according to age from youngest to oldest: 25, 26, 27, 40, 41, 43, 49,

69, 69, 72, and six females to four males. Nominal data is a name or label and not a number

shown in a frequency table or graph such as a bar chart and contains categories that are simply

labels without any inherent order (Monk, 2018). When age is used to group people into specific

categories without considering the order or how much they differ from each other, it is

considered nominal data. The nominal data of this survey is the gender of the participants,

female and male, and the symptoms those who contracted COVID experienced: body aches,

chills, cough, fever, and sinus drainage.

The measures of center, or measures of central tendency, are some of the most

commonly used to describe the center of data using the mean, median, and mode (Monk,

2018). “The measures of central tendency are the single value that is most typical and most
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representative of the collected data and aims to provide an accurate description of the entire

data” (Manikandan, 2011). According to the Purdue OWL, the mean is one of the measures of

central tendency, referred to as the average, used to describe what a typical data point might

look like and is calculated by taking the total sum of all the numbers in a dataset and dividing it

by the total number of data points (Purdue, 2024). The mean is the average and appropriate for

continuous data. The mean is appropriate for understanding the average number of times

people contract COVID which is 2.3. The sample mean age of individuals whose preexisting

symptoms worsened after either contracting COVID or receiving a COVID vaccine is 48.6. The

sample mean is the average of the sample data, while the mean is the average of the entire

population (Monk, 2018). Without the data of the entire population, the sample mean is used

to estimate the average, or mean, of the entire population. The standard deviation is the

measure of the spread of values around the mean (Monk, 2018). The standard deviation of the

age of the participants is 18.3027 and 12.457 for the day it took to recover. The median

represents the middle value in a dataset when ordered. It is less affected by extreme values and

is suitable for skewed or non-normally distributed data. (Monk, 2018). The median is a better

measurement to know if the number of times people got COVID is highly variable and you want

a measure that is less sensitive to outliers. The median or middle value, of the time it takes to

recover from COVID symptoms is fourteen days. The mode is the most frequently occurring

value in a dataset and is suitable for categorical or discrete data. The mode, or most commonly

reported symptoms of this study caused by contracting COVID, receiving a COVID vaccine, or

receiving a COVID booster, is fever which was reported by eight participants.

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Measures of Dispersion or the measures of spread, “describe how spread out the data

values are” measured using standard deviation, and interquartile range (Monk, 2018). The

range of ages among the individuals surveyed is the difference between the maximum and

minimum values in a dataset to understand the spread of ages within the sample (Monk, 2018).

The range of the age of the participants from this study is forty-seven and the range for the

days needed to recover is thirty-five. In the survey, the range was used to measure the spread

or dispersion of various quantitative variables through the standard deviation and interquartile

range. The Interquartile Range, or IQR, is the range between the 25th and 75th percentiles

(Monk, 2018). The IQR is appropriate to find the range of the time it took the participants to

recover from COVID. For this study the 25th percentile is seven, the 50th is fourteen, the 75th is

28, and the interquartile range is 21. A frequency distribution is a table that presents the

frequency for each category according to the text (Monk, 2018). Listed is the frequency

distribution of the age groups of the participants in this study.

Age Frequency

25-29 3

30-34 0

35-39 0

40-44 3

45-49 1

50-54 0

55-59 0

60-64 0
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35-69 2

70-74 1

A histogram, a graphical representation of a frequency distribution, was used to show the

distribution of ages among participants.

Histogram
Frequency

4
0 Frequency
29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 74 More
Age

In analyzing the data collected from the survey on COVID-19, a frequency distribution

was conducted using five to eight classes to organize the responses. Regarding age

demographics, the distribution revealed that the majority of respondents fell within the age

groups of 40 to 49 years old and 50 to 64 years old, each comprising three individuals, while the

25 to 34 years old and adults over 65 years old categories each had two participants. In terms

of gender, there were six female respondents and four male respondents. When asked about

the number of times they contracted COVID, the majority, five participants contracted covid

three times, four females and one male. Three participants reported contracting it twice, one

female and two males. Two individuals reported contracting it once, one female and one male.

Symptoms experienced varied among respondents, with loss of taste or smell being the most

commonly reported symptom by eight individuals, four females, and two males. One female

reported recovering in one to two days and three females and three males reported recovering

in one week. Two individuals, one female and one male, reported a recovery time of three
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weeks. Two females reported a recovery time of four weeks. Three female respondents

reported experiencing complications after contracting and recovering from COVID, a covid

vaccine, or receiving a covid booster. Five respondents knew someone whose conditions

worsened or led to death after contracting COVID, receiving a COVID vaccine, or receiving a

COVID booster.

The measures of association, also called measures of position, specify the proportion of

the data that is less than a given value (Monk, 2018). To measure the strength and direction of

the relationship between age and time to recover from Covid symptoms a correlation coefficient

was used. The correlation coefficient, r, measures the strength and direction of the linear

relationship between two variables and ranges from negative one to one, where one indicates a

perfect positive linear relationship, negative one indicates a perfect negative linear relationship,

and zero indicates no linear relationship. The p-value tells you whether that relationship is

statistically significant or likely to have occurred by random chance (Mcleod, 2023). The

correlation coefficient, R-value, between age and time to recover from COVID symptoms is

0.2814. The significance level, α), represents the probability of incorrectly rejecting the null

hypothesis when it is true. The p-value is important for determining the statistical significance of

the observed correlation coefficient between age and time to recover from COVID symptoms.

With a p-value of 0.430909, the result is not significant at the conventional significance level of

p < 0.05.

To construct a 95% confidence interval to estimate the population mean or proportion in

the claim, we utilize the data collected from the survey. For the age variable, the confidence

interval is calculated as 45.1 ± 11.342, indicating that we are 95% confident that the true
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population mean age falls within the range of 33.758 to 56.442 years. Similarly, for the recovery

time variable, the confidence interval is determined as 17.5 ± 7.721, suggesting that we are 95

percent confident that the true population mean recovery time falls within the range of 9.779 to

25.221 days. These confidence intervals provide a range within which we can reasonably

estimate the true population parameters based on the sample data collected in the survey,

allowing for a degree of uncertainty inherent in statistical estimation.

Discussion

A large international study found that pre-existing illnesses like cardiovascular disease,

diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and cancer can increase a patient’s

risk of dying from COVID-19 (Ssentongo, et. al., 2020). Patients with chronic kidney disease are

three times more likely to die from COVID-19 and patients with cardiovascular disease may

double a patient’s risk of dying from COVID-19 (Ssentongo, et. al., 2020). Other pre-existing

conditions may increase a COVID-19 patient’s risk of death by one-and-a-half to three times

(Ssentongo, et. al., 2020).

An additional study found that heart failure, obesity, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, chronic

kidney disease, active and hematological cancer, and history of organ transplantation are

associated with an increased risk of poor COVID-19-related outcomes such as hospitalization,

need for intensive care, and death (Treskova-Schwarzbach, 2021). The study also found that the

association between diabetes and mortality was strongest in North America, while obesity and

mortality were strongest in Europe (Treskova-Schwarzbach, 2021). The study provides evidence

that pre-existing health conditions can significantly impact the severity of COVID-19 outcomes

(Treskova-Schwarzbach, 2021).
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In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, regulates the food

ingredients introduced into and offered for sale in interstate commerce in food products except

for poultry, certain processed egg products, meat, and catfish which are regulated by the United

States Department of Agriculture, or USDA (FDA, 2019). Yet a cross-sectional study of 1,187

subjects showed that moderate and high adherence to a Western dietary pattern was

associated with a higher risk of obesity and COVID-19 infection during the pandemic (Maharat,

2024). The study finds that COVID vaccines from companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and

AstraZeneca were linked to rare occurrences of blood, brain, and heart disorders despite what

experts stated which was that the risks of developing COVID greatly outweigh the risks of

getting vaccinated (Johnson, 2024).

Another study found that in the US, about 6 in 10 adults dying of COVID-19 were

vaccinated or boosted, and that’s remained true through at least August 2022 (Cox, et. al.,

2022). Given the plateauing vaccination rate, it is likely that many of the vaccinated people who

died of COVID-19 had the primary series or a booster many months or even over a year earlier

(Cox, et. al., 2022). The study also found that older adults are at greater risk for severe illness

and death from COVID-19 than younger people but at the same time the CDC recommends

recent booster shots, and why people at higher risk need to stay up-to-date on boosters (Cox,

et. al., 2022). Protection from COVID-19 vaccines can diminish, or wane, over time, and booster

doses are needed to maintain a robust immune response, the CDC now recommends the

updated bivalent booster shot for everyone aged five years and above (Cox, et. al., 2022).

The findings of this COVID study provide valuable insights into the demographic

distribution, symptomatology, recovery duration, and post-recovery outcomes among the

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participants. The age distribution reveals varying susceptibility to COVID-19 across different age

groups. Notably, the majority of participants fell within the age range of forty to sixty-four,

indicating a higher incidence of COVID among middle-aged individuals. However, it is important

to note the presence of two individuals over the age of sixty-five, suggesting that older adults

remain at risk despite being a smaller proportion of the sample. The gender distribution within

the study sample showed a slight imbalance, with a higher number of women, six, compared to

men, four, that participated. While this difference may not be statistically significant due to the

small sample size, it underscores the need for equitable representation in COVID-19 research.

The study highlights both single and recurrent infections among the participants. The presence

of individuals who contracted COVID-19 multiple times underscores the importance of ongoing

focus and preventive measures even after initial recovery.

Symptomatology among the participants reflects the common manifestations associated

with COVID-19, with loss of taste and smell, fever, and body aches being predominant. These

findings align with established literature on COVID-19 symptoms, providing further validation of

the study's results. The recovery duration varied among the participants, with the majority

experiencing recovery within one week, while others required up to one month. The presence

of individuals with prolonged recovery times emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of COVID-

19 outcomes and underscores the need for tailored post-recovery care. Post-recovery outcomes

revealed a mixed picture, with some participants experiencing complications and exacerbation

of preexisting conditions. Additionally, a notable proportion reported knowing individuals who

experienced adverse outcomes following COVID-19 infection or vaccination. These findings

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highlight the importance of comprehensive follow-up care and ongoing surveillance to mitigate

long-term consequences and ensure the safety of individuals post-recovery.

While this survey provides valuable insights into various aspects of COVID experiences

among the surveyed individuals, several limitations should be acknowledged. The sample size of

ten individuals, comprised primarily of family members, friends, and neighbors, may limit the

generalizability of the findings to broader populations. The convenience sampling method used,

which involved posting an ad on the NextDoor application and recruiting participants from

personal networks, introduces potential selection bias, as individuals who chose to participate

may differ from those who did not. Reliance on self-reported data may introduce recall bias or

social desirability bias, as participants may underreport or overreport certain experiences or

behaviors. The survey instrument itself may have limitations in comprehensively capturing the

complexity of COVID-19 experiences, as it may not have included all relevant variables or

nuances.

Future research efforts with larger, more diverse samples and longitudinal designs could

address some of these limitations and provide a more comprehensive understanding of COVID

experiences. While this survey has shed light on various aspects of COVID experiences within

the surveyed population, there are several avenues for future research to explore. Expanding

the sample size and diversifying the participant pool beyond personal networks could enhance

the generalizability of findings and provide a more comprehensive understanding of COVID

experiences across different demographic groups. Longitudinal studies could track individuals'

experiences over time, allowing for the examination of changes in symptoms, recovery

trajectories, and long-term impacts of COVID. Also, future research should probe the
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examination of individuals' dietary patterns and explore the impacts of COVID on both regular

dietary habits and the adoption of healthier diets, providing valuable insights into the potential

relationships between nutrition and resilience during pandemics. Incorporating objective

measures, such as clinical assessments or biomarker analyses, alongside self-reported data

could provide a more nuanced understanding of COVID severity and outcomes. Qualitative

research methods, such as interviews or focus groups, could accompany quantitative surveys by

capturing in-depth narratives and lived experiences of individuals affected by COVID. Exploring

the effectiveness of interventions or support strategies in modifying and decreasing the impact

of COVID, such as vaccination campaigns or mental health services, could inform evidence-

based practices for addressing the ongoing pandemic and its aftermath. Exploring these future

directions, researchers can contribute to a deeper understanding of the COVID experience and

inform targeted interventions to provide support to those affected.

This survey provides valuable insights into the diverse experiences of individuals affected

by COVID. Through the analysis of symptoms, recovery times, complications, and other factors,

we have gained a deeper understanding of the impact of the virus on different demographic

groups. The data collected underscores the importance of continued vigilance and preventive

measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its burden on individuals and

healthcare systems. Additionally, this study highlights the resilience and adaptability of

communities in the face of unprecedented challenges. Moving forward, it is imperative to build

upon these findings to inform evidence-based strategies for managing and responding to future

outbreaks effectively. By learning from the experiences documented in this survey, we can
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better prepare and protect ourselves against the ongoing threat of COVID and similar infectious

diseases.
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