Summary:
Two centres (one in Germany and the other in the UK) looked at 3 groups of people between May 2021 and July 2023, one group with no SARS-CoV-2 infection at all, one that had had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 but hadn’t developed Long COVID and one that had Long COVID and obviously infected, the average age was 48 years.
They used two web based cognitive tests to measure cognitive slowing and showed there was a significant difference between the Long COVID group and the other two groups, unrelated to pre-existing mental illness. They postulate that this gives some proof that those suffering from Long COVID have severe cognitive slowing (brain fog, slower thinking time, difficulty with concentration)
Also looking at the results it seems that the group that was infected but didn’t get Long COVID performed less well than the group that hadn’t been infected at all. This wasn’t mentioned in the results but indicates that getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 without Long COVID has an effect on cognition anyway.
Main Points:
- Study shows cognitive slowing in patients with post-COVID conditions
- Cognitive slowing was not present in those who previously had COVID without developing post-COVID conditions
- Cognitive slowing can be reliably and easily measured as part of diagnostic work-up
- Cognitive slowing is a distinguishing factor in patients with post-COVID conditions
- Cognitive slowing is highly correlated with poor performance on measures of sustained attention
- Comorbidities such as fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and post-traumatic stress disorder did not account for cognitive slowing in patients with post-COVID conditions
- Cognitive slowing can be quantitatively measured with an online platform
- Study was funded by Wellcome Trust, NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, and the Thüringer Aufbaubank
In the aftermath of COVID-19, cognitive slowing emerges as a distinct marker in post-COVID-19 conditions, setting apart survivors with enduring symptoms. The pronounced delays observed in simple reaction time tasks signal a potential key factor contributing to cognitive impairments, marking a critical aspect of the post-COVID-19 cognitive landscape.
Long Covid The Answers
Article:
Summary: The study explores cognitive symptoms in COVID-19 survivors with post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC) and identifies pronounced cognitive slowing as a common deficit. Patients with PCC exhibited significant delays in Simple Reaction Time (SRT) tasks, with responses ∼3 standard deviations slower than healthy controls. Cognitive slowing was prevalent across clinics in Germany and the UK, independent of comorbidities. This finding suggests cognitive slowing as a potential marker for PCC-related cognitive impairments.
Background: COVID-19 survivors may face chronic cognitive symptoms in post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC), lacking definitive objective markers. The study aims to investigate if cognitive slowing is a key shared deficit among individuals with PCC.
Methods: Patients with PCC (270) from clinics in the UK and Germany participated in web-based cognitive tasks (SRT and NVT). Comparison groups included those with past symptomatic COVID-19 without PCC (No-PCC group) and uninfected individuals (No-COVID group). Data collection occurred between May 18, 2021, and July 4, 2023.
Findings: Patients with PCC exhibited significant cognitive slowing, distinguishing them from age-matched healthy controls and those with past symptomatic COVID-19 without PCC. The slowing was evident even in a 30-second task (SRT), with responses ∼3 standard deviations slower. Approximately 53.5% of patients with PCC showed response speeds exceeding 2 standard deviations from the control mean. This cognitive slowing pattern was consistent across clinics in Germany and the UK. Comorbidities did not explain the extent of cognitive slowing, and SRT performance correlated with poor results on the NVT measure of sustained attention.
Interpretation: The study robustly demonstrates pronounced cognitive slowing in individuals with PCC, suggesting it as a distinguishing factor from those with past symptomatic COVID-19 but without PCC. The findings highlight the potential significance of cognitive slowing in contributing to reported cognitive impairments in patients with PCC.
Source:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00013-0/fulltext
The effects of COVID-19 on cognitive performance in a community-based cohort: a COVID symptom study biobank prospective cohort study
NJ Cheetham, R Penfold, V Giunchiglia, V Bowyer, CH Sudre, LS Canas, J Deng, B Murray…
EClinicalMedicine, 2023•thelancet.com