Post-COVID-19 Pulmonary Function Across Extreme Somatic Constitution (Prakriti) Types: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study of Male Survivors of Severe and Asymptomatic COVID-19
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be associated with persistent pulmonary function abnormalities following recovery, with impaired respiratory function reported among survivors.In Ayurveda, somatic constitution (prakriti) refers to an individual's constitutional characteristics and has been proposed to be associated with variations in physiological characteristics and responses to disease.However, evidence regarding differences in post-COVID pulmonary function according to somatic constitution remains limited.This study aimed to compare pulmonary function parameters between male survivors of severe and asymptomatic COVID-19 across vata, pitta, and kapha somatic constitution (prakriti) types.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional analytical study included 90 male COVID-19 survivors aged 21-50 years, comprising 45 survivors of severe COVID-19 and 45 asymptomatic survivors.Each group comprised 15 participants with vata, 15 with pitta, and 15 with kapha somatic constitution.Severe COVID-19 was defined by an HRCT chest severity score >15, whereas asymptomatic participants were individuals with previously RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 who did not develop clinical symptoms during the infection period.Somatic constitution was assessed using the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Somatic Constitution (Prakriti) Assessment Proforma.Pulmonary function was evaluated using spirometry, including percent-predicted forced vital capacity (%FVC), percent-predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (%FEV1), and FEV1/FVC ratio.Data were analyzed using the independent-samples t-test, Pearson's chi-square test, one-way analysis of variance, and Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc comparisons.A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Overall, mean %FVC and %FEV1 were significantly lower among severe COVID-19 survivors than asymptomatic survivors (p = 0.0001 for both), whereas the FEV1/FVC ratio did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.96).When analyzed by somatic constitution type, mean %FVC was significantly lower among severe survivors than asymptomatic survivors with vata (84.47 vs. 93.93;p = 0.0091) and pitta (79.33 vs. 94.60;p < 0.001) somatic constitution, but not among those with kapha (90.13 vs. 92.87;p = 0.2087).Similarly, mean %FEV1 was significantly lower among severe survivors than asymptomatic survivors with vata (84.27 vs. 94.07;p = 0.0027) and pitta (78.00 vs. 93.93;p < 0.001) somatic constitution, but not among those with kapha (87.47 vs. 88.60;p = 0.7279) somatic constitution.Within the recovered severe group, pulmonary function also differed across somatic constitution types, with lower %FVC and %FEV1 among pitta than kapha participants.Conclusion: Severe COVID-19 survivors with vata and pitta somatic constitution showed significantly reduced %FVC and %FEV1 compared with asymptomatic survivors with the corresponding somatic constitution types, whereas no significant differences were observed among kapha participants.The relatively preserved FEV1/FVC ratio is compatible with a spirometric pattern suggestive of restriction following severe COVID-19, although true restriction cannot be confirmed by spirometry alone.These findings provide preliminary evidence of variation in post-COVID-19 pulmonary function across somatic constitution types and warrant confirmation through larger prospective studies.
Source: Cureus
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7214557098