MADRID, 18 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Seven in 10 patients with prolonged COVID experience problems with concentration and memory several months after the onset of the illness, with many of them performing worse than their peers on cognitive tests, according to new research from the University of Cambridge, UK. United.
Half of the patients in the study reported difficulty getting medical professionals to take their symptoms seriously, perhaps because cognitive symptoms don’t get the same attention as lung problems or fatigue.
In a study of 181 patients with long-standing COVID, 78% reported difficulty concentrating, 69% reported brain fog, 68% reported forgetfulness, and 60% reported trouble finding the right word when speaking. These self-reported symptoms were reflected in a significantly lower ability to recall words and images on cognitive tests.
Participants performed multiple tasks to test their decision-making ability and memory. Among them, remember words from a list and remember which two images appeared together. The results revealed a consistent pattern of ongoing memory problems in those who had experienced COVID-19 infection. Problems were more pronounced in people whose ongoing general symptoms were more severe.
To help understand the cause of the cognitive problems, the researchers investigated other symptoms that might be related. They found that people who experienced fatigue and neurological symptoms, such as dizziness and headache, during their initial illness were more likely to have cognitive symptoms later on. They also found that those who continued to experience neurological symptoms were especially impaired on cognitive tests.
The results are particularly worrying when considering the prevalence of long-term COVID as a percentage of the working population: the UK Office for National Statistics estimates that between 10% and 25% of COVID-19 sufferers go on to have some degree of chronic disease.
“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 concerning is happening,” says Dr. Muzaffer Kaser, researcher at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and consultant psychiatrist at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, who participated in the study.
“Memory difficulties can significantly affect people’s daily lives, including their ability to do their jobs properly,” he adds.
The researchers say their results support other findings that suggest society will face a “long tail” of occupational illnesses due to long COVID. Therefore, it is important, not only for the good of individuals, but for that of society in general, to be able to prevent, predict, identify and treat the problems associated with prolonged COVID.
“Prolonged COVID has received very little political and medical attention. It is urgent that it be taken more seriously, and cognitive issues are an important part of it. When politicians talk about ‘Living with COVID’, that is, the infection without palliative, this is something that they ignore. The impact on the working population could be enormous, “says Dr Lucy Cheke, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the work.
The findings, published in two papers in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, are among the first results of an online study – called “COVID and Cognition” – that has followed the symptoms of 181 patients with prolonged COVID. for 18 months.
Most had COVID-19 at least six months before the study began. Very few people had been sick enough with COVID-19 to be hospitalized. Another 185 people who have not had COVID-19 are participating in the study for comparison.
Cheke adds, “People think prolonged COVID is ‘just’ fatigue or a cough, but cognitive problems are the second most common symptom, and our data suggest this is because there is a significant impact on the ability to remember. There is increasing evidence that COVID-19 impacts the brain, and our findings reflect this.”
“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 immune response. early,” Kaser stresses.
Study participants were recruited between October 2020 and March 2021, when the Alpha variant and the parent form of SARS-CoV-2 were circulating in the population. The participants will continue to be monitored, using both symptom reports and objective cognitive tests, to see how long their symptoms persist.
The study does not currently have data on prolonged COVID associated with the Delta or Omicron variants of the coronavirus, although a new cohort is now being recruited to verify this. The researchers say more research is needed to understand the complex effects of COVID on the brain, cognition, and mental health.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines describe post-COVID-19 syndrome as “signs or symptoms that develop during or after infection and are consistent with COVID-19, persist for more than 12 weeks and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study found that even among people who were not admitted to hospital, those with worse initial COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to have a range of ongoing symptoms (including nausea, abdominal pain, chest tightness and breathing problems). ) weeks or months later, and those symptoms were probably more severe than in people whose initial illness was mild. People over the age of 30 were also found to be more likely to have ongoing severe symptoms than younger people.
“It is important for people to seek help if they are worried about any lingering symptoms after COVID infection. COVID can affect multiple systems and further evaluation can be done at the large COVID clinics across the UK, following a GP referral,” Kaser concludes.
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