The Effect of 14-Day Consumption of Hydrogen-Rich Water Alleviates Fatigue but Does Not Ameliorate Dyspnea in Long-COVID Patients: A Pilot, Single-Blind, and Randomized, Controlled Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 16; no. 10; p. 1529
• Main Authors: Tan, Yineng, Xie, Yixun, Dong, Gengxin, Yin, Mingyue, Shang, Zhangyuting, Zhou, Kaixiang, Bao, Dapeng, Zhou, Junhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19.05.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Causes of; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Diet therapy; Drinking water; Dyspnea; Fatigue; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Hydrogen; hydrogen-rich water; Infections; Inflammation; Long-COVID; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Oxidative stress; Oxygen saturation; Patient outcomes; Pilot Projects; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Shortness of breath; Single-Blind Method; Sleep; Water; China; Long-COVID; fatigue; dyspnea; hydrogen-rich water
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16101529

(1) Background: Hydrogen (H ) may be a potential therapeutic agent for managing Long COVID symptoms due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, more scientific literature is needed to describe the effects of H administration on treating symptoms. A study aimed to investigate the impact of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) administration on the fatigue and dyspnea of Long-COVID patients for 14 consecutive days. (2) Methods: In this randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study, 55 participants were recruited, and 23 of them were excluded. A total of 32 eligible participants were randomized into a hydrogen-rich water (HRW) group ( = 16) and a placebo water (PW) group ( = 16) in which they were instructed to consume hydrogen-rich water or placebo water for 14 days, respectively. The participants completed the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), 30 s Chair Stand Test (30s-CST), Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Rating Scale (mMRC), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) before and after the intervention. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the effects of HRW. Cohen's d values were used to assess the effect size when significance was observed. The mean change with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) was also reported. (3) Results: The effects of HRW on lowering FSS scores ( = 0.046, [95% CI = -20.607, -0.198, d = 0.696] and improving total distance in the 6WMT ( < 0.001, [95% CI = 41.972, 61.891], d = 1.010), total time for the 30s-CST ( = 0.002, [95% CI = 1.570, 6.314], d = 1.190), and PSQI scores ( = 0.012, [95% CI = -5.169, 0.742], d = 1.274) compared to PW were of a significantly moderate effect size, while there was no significant difference in mMRC score ( = 0.556) or DASS-21 score ( > 0.143). (4) Conclusions: This study demonstrates that HRW might be an effective strategy for alleviating fatigue and improving cardiorespiratory endurance, musculoskeletal function, and sleep quality. Still, it does not ameliorate dyspnea among Long-COVID patients.