COVID-19 Associated With Problems in Thinking, Attention

In early 2020 the study team extended the questionnaires to gather information on COVID-19 infection, the symptoms experienced, and the need for hospitalization.

Out of the 81,337 who provided complete data, 12,689 people suspected they had COVID-19. Participants reported a range of severity of illness, with 3,559 participants experiencing respiratory symptoms were able to stay at home, and nearly 200 were hospitalized, and about a quarter of these required mechanical ventilation.

The time since illness onset was around 1-6 months, meaning the study could not draw any definitive conclusions about whether these effects on cognition were long-lasting.

New Link Discovered

The study found a relationship between deficits in overall cognitive performance and the severity of respiratory symptoms experienced. They also found that not all areas of thinking ability were affected with COVID-19.

Some abilities were spared, including emotional discrimination (recognition of faces expressing the same emotion), and working memory (remembering where a sequence of squares appears on the screen).

The most significant deficit was seen in executive tasks that required skills in reasoning and problem solving compared to other tasks.

The researchers also compared the pattern of scores on the tests to cognitive changes to understand the size of the deficit.

The effects in those hospitalized with mechanical ventilation were similar to the average cognitive decline seen over a period of ten years of aging and equivalent to a seven-point difference in IQ.

Other Findings

The researchers also carried out a series of checks to ensure these cognitive deficits were associated with COVID-19 and not explicable by other variables. Those checks suggested the results were not due to a minority with pre-existing conditions or on-going symptoms of COVID-19.

The results also explain that those who contracted more severe COVID-19 disease were less cognitively able before they were ill. This research is all converging to indicate some important effects of COVID-19 on the brain that need further investigation.

In the future by using brain imaging and conducting cognitive tests on COVID-19 recovered patients, scientists can gain insights on their mental health and everyday function. These findings also suggest that reducing the severity of illness through different approaches will decrease the severity of cognitive difficulties people may experience.

Tips to Take Care of Brain Health Post COVID

People need to do the following that will help in improving their brain health:

1. Yoga and Meditation: Help improve focus and attention that will boost brain health.
2. 
   Eat well: Eating fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and having nuts, legumes, lentils can improve brain function.
3. 
   Brain exercises: Try to learn a new activity or skill to keep your brain active.
4. 
   Avoid alcohol and refrain from self-medication.

Reference:

1. Cognitive deficits in people who have recovered from COVID-19
   – (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00324-2/fulltext)

Source: Medindia