Long neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric sequelae in participants with post-COVID-19 infection: a longitudinal study

Almeria, Marta, Cejudo, Juan Carlos ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6355-8499, Deus, Joan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3305-2662 and Krupinski, Jerzy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5136-8898 (2024) Long neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric sequelae in participants with post-COVID-19 infection: a longitudinal study. Neurology International, 16 (4). pp. 853-868. ISSN 2035-8377

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Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and characterize the cognitive changes in COVID-19 participants at 6-month follow-up, and to explore a possible association with clinical symptoms, emotional disturbance and disease severity. Methods: This single-center longitudinal cohort study included participants aged 20 and 60 years old to exclude cognitive impairment age-associated with confirmed COVID-19 infection. The initial evaluation occurred 10 to 30 days after hospital or ambulatory discharge, with a subsequent follow-up at 6 months. Patients who had a history of cognitive impairment, neurological conditions, or serious psychiatric disorders were not included. Information on demographics and laboratory results was gathered from medical records. Cognitive outcomes were assessed with a neuropsychological battery including attention, verbal and visual memory, language and executive function tests. Results: A total of 200 participants were included in the study, and 108 completed the follow-up visit. At the 6-month follow-up, comparing the means from baseline with those of the follow-up evaluation, significant overall improvement was observed in verbal and visual memory subtests (p = 0.001), processing speed (p = 0.001), executive function (p = 0.028; p = 0.016) and naming (p = 0.001), independently of disease severity and cognitive complaints. Anxiety and depression were significantly higher in groups with Subjective Cognitive Complaints (SCC) compared to those without (p < 0.01 for both). Conclusions: Persistent symptoms are common regardless of disease severity and are often linked to cognitive complaints. Six months after COVID-19, the most frequently reported symptoms included headache, dyspnea, fatigue, cognitive complaints, anxiety, and depression. No cognitive impairment was found to be associated with the severity of COVID-19. Overall, neuropsychological and psychopathological improvement was observed at 6 months regardless of disease severity and cognitive complaints.