Sometimes, the effects of COVID-19 hang around much longer than we’d like. One of these lingering issues is brain fog, or trouble thinking clearly.
A recent study from King’s College London found that some people who had COVID-19 continued to struggle with brain fog even two years after catching the virus.
This research sheds light on what’s known as “long COVID” and highlights how this persistent problem can affect people’s lives.
Testing the Brain After COVID-19
The King’s College team wanted to understand how COVID-19 affects our thinking and memory. To do this, they gave online tests to more than 3,000 people in 2021 and 2022.
These tests challenged the participants in different ways, like testing their memory, attention span, reasoning skills, how quickly they could think, and their motor control.
They found that the people who had the hardest time with these tests were those who had COVID-19 symptoms for 12 weeks or more.
In fact, their performance on the tests was similar to what you’d expect from someone who is 10 years older. Even after nine months, these people’s test scores didn’t improve much.
Not Everyone Recovers Fully
When the researchers took a closer look at the data, they saw a pattern. People who felt completely better after having COVID-19 did just as well on the tests as people who never had the virus.
But the people who didn’t feel completely better even after beating the virus had lower scores on the tests.
Dr. Nathan Cheetham, the lead author of the study, pointed out that COVID-19’s impact on memory and thinking was still noticeable almost two years after infection in people living with long-term symptoms.
However, he added that it was encouraging to see that people who felt fully recovered after COVID-19 did well on the tests, even if they had had long COVID.
The Need for Ongoing Monitoring and Support
Professor Claire Steves, who was also part of the research team, emphasized the need for more work in this area.
She said that while some people have noticeable changes in brain function nearly two years after getting COVID-19, others still don’t feel completely better.
This study clearly shows that COVID-19 can have a long-lasting impact on our thinking and memory.
Therefore, there’s a need to keep a close eye on those who are most affected by the virus and provide them with the support they need to recover fully.
The research was published in the eClinicalMedicine journal, which means the results have been thoroughly checked by other scientists.
As we continue to learn more about COVID-19 and its long-term effects, studies like this will help guide our efforts to help those affected by the virus.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19, and how diets could help manage post-COVID syndrome.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about heart inflammation and COVID vaccination, and results showing zinc could help reduce COVID-19 infection risk.
The study was published in eClinicalMedicine.
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