May 09, 2022 07:00:00

Severe COVID-19 has a cognitive effect comparable to '20 years of aging', equivalent to a 10-point reduction in IQ

It has been reported that the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) develops symptoms such as fever and fatigue during infection, as well as sequelae such as decreased concentration and cognitive function after recovery. New studies have shown that the cognitive effects of severe illness can be equivalent to 20 years of aging.

Multivariate profile and acute-phase correlates of cognitive deficits in a COVID-19 hospitalised cohort --eClinicalMedicine
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101417

Lasting brain impacts of severe COVID-19 equivalent to 20 years of aging | Imperial News | Imperial College London

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/236034/lasting-brain-impacts-severe-covid-19-equivalent/

Cognitive Impact of Severe COVID Is Equivalent to 20 Years of Aging, Study Finds
https://www.sciencealert.com/like-20-years-of-aging-study-warns-of-brutal-cognitive-impact-of-severe-covid

Adam Hampshire and colleagues at Imperial College London and colleagues received critical care for critical COVID-19 patients at the Adenbrooks Hospital at the University of Cambridge between March 10, 2020 and July 31, 2020. Forty-six people were elected. Approximately 6 months after infection, a test tool called Cognitron was used to test the state of cognitive function such as memory and reasoning, in addition to measures such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hampshire and colleagues did not have data before the patient had COVID-19, so how much did it deviate from the scores shown by 66,008 civilians when compared to the 460 controls? I mapped if there is.

The results showed that those who recovered from severe COVID-19 were less accurate and slower to react than the average person. The magnitude of this decline in cognitive function was similar to the effect of humans aging from 50 to 70 years, equivalent to losing 10 points of IQ.

According to the test results, the accuracy of the language similarity task, which is required to find word similarity among cognitive functions, was most affected. Hampshire et al. 'The decline in cognitive function due to COVID-19 infection is different from that seen in the early symptoms of dementia and general aging.' 'How serious is the change in cognitive function after the infection becomes severe?' We need to investigate what it is and understand how to mitigate it. '

According to a survey by Hampshire et al., Patients showed a gradual improvement in cognitive decline. Hampshire et al. 'This is not statistically significant, but at least it is heading in the right direction. In the future, we will clarify the link between these cognitive disorders and the underlying neuropathology and inflammatory biomarkers. We will focus on longitudinally tracking recovery in the chronic phase. '