Persistent COVID or post-COVID syndrome is a disorder that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) describes as “signs or symptoms that develop during or after infection consistent with COVID-19, continue for more than 12 weeks, and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis.
Now, a new investigation from the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, has verified that seven out of 10 patients who suffer from it experience concentration and memory problems several months after infection by coronavirus, and that they also obtain worse results in the tests. cognitive compared to healthy individuals.
This study, which has been published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, involved 181 patients with prolonged COVID, who were recruited between October 2020 and March 2021, when the alpha variant and the original form of SARS-CoV-2 were circulating. Of these, 78% reported difficulty concentrating, 69% mental confusion, 68% reported forgetfulness, and 60% reported trouble finding the right word when speaking. These self-reported symptoms were associated with a significantly decreased ability to remember words and images when subjected to cognitive tests.
“When people say they have cognitive difficulties after COVID, they are not necessarily the result of anxiety or depression”
The participants had to perform numerous tasks aimed at testing their decision-making and memory, such as recalling words from a list and remembering which two pictures appeared together. The results of the evaluation showed a consistent pattern of ongoing memory problems in those who had suffered from COVID-19, and these problems were observed to be more evident in people whose general ongoing symptoms were more severe.
The main findings of the study highlight that:
- About 70% of long-term COVID patients in the study had difficulty concentrating and memory problems several months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- People with persistent COVID performed worse on cognitive tests.
- The severity of these symptoms was linked to the level of fatigue and neurological symptoms, such as headache and dizziness, that they had experienced during the initial COVID-19.
- Half of the patients included in the study reported difficulties in getting doctors to take their symptoms seriously, perhaps because cognitive impairments are not given the same importance as respiratory or lung problems, or fatigue.
- 75% of participants with severe and ongoing symptoms of persistent COVID reported being unable to work for long periods of time.
Origin of cognitive problems in people with prolonged COVID
The researchers looked at other symptoms that might be related to cognitive problems and found that patients who experienced fatigue and neurological symptoms such as headache and dizziness during their initial illness were more likely to experience cognitive symptoms later.
Even if they had not been hospitalized, those with worse initial COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to report a range of ongoing symptoms (including nausea, abdominal pain, chest tightness, and breathing problems) weeks or months later. Also, those over the age of 30 were more likely to have severe ongoing symptoms than those who were younger.
Coronavirus infection can lead to inflammation in the body, which can affect behavior and cognitive performance in ways we don’t yet fully understand.
“This is important evidence that when people say they have cognitive difficulties after COVID, they are not necessarily the result of anxiety or depression. The effects are measurable, something worrying is happening,” said Dr Muzaffer Kaser, a researcher at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and a consultant psychiatrist at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, who was involved in the study. “Memory difficulties can significantly affect people’s daily lives, including their ability to do their jobs correctly,” he adds.
The authors of the work have pointed out that their findings support previous ones that suggest that the long duration of COVID-19 will cause a “long tail” of occupational diseases and that it is therefore very important to prevent, predict, identify and treat associated health problems. to persistent COVID, both for the good of the people affected, and for that of society in general.
“The long COVID has received very little political or medical attention. There is an urgent need for it to be taken more seriously, and cognitive problems are a big part of this. When politicians talk about ‘Living with COVID’, that is, an infection without palliatives, this is something they ignore. The impact on the workforce could be huge,” said Dr. Lucy Cheke, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the paper.
“Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can lead to inflammation in the body, and this inflammation can affect behavior and cognitive performance in ways that we don’t yet fully understand, but we think are related to an excessive early immune response.” Kaser concludes.
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