In two new studies, researchers showed cognitive impairment has been reported following recovery from COVID-19.
In the first study from the University of Texas, researchers examined chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Data were included for 233 SARS-CoV-2-infected participants and 64 healthy people.
The researchers categorized the sample into three groups: normal cognition, memory-only impairment, and multiple-domain impairment (44.6%, 21.0% and 34.4%, respectively).
There was a link for the severity of cognitive impairment with the severity of olfactory dysfunction, but no correlation with severity of acute COVID-19.
In the second study from the University of Thessaly in Greece, researchers examined the prevalence and associations of cognitive impairment in 32 patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 followed for two months after hospital discharge.
They found that 56.2% of the patients presented with cognitive decline.
The predominant patterns of cognitive impairment were short-term memory impairments and multi-domain impairment without short-term memory deficits.
The team says a brain deprived of oxygen is not healthy, and persistent deprivation may very well contribute to cognitive difficulties.
These data suggest some common biological mechanisms between COVID-19’s dyscognitive effects and post-COVID-19 fatigue that have been reported over the last several months.
If you care about cognitive decline, please read studies about commonly used mental drugs may harm cognitive functions and findings of a healthier heart linked to better cognitive functions.
For more information about cognitive health, please see recent studies about this hobby may help protect against cognitive decline in older people and results showing that this eye disease linked to higher risk of cognitive impairment.
The study was presented at the annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. One author of the study is Gabriel de Erausquin, M.D., Ph.D.
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