Research Shows Severe COVID-19 Contributes to Long-Lasting Cognitive Impairment
Article Summary
- Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed COVID-19 contributes to brain fog and other cognitive issues.
- Their work identified cognitive issues even two years after infection, including brain fog, word-finding problems and memory deficits.
- The authors hope this research will encourage clinicians to pay closer attention to patients with long COVID.
In a study that followed COVID-19 patients for two years or more, researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed the disease contributes to long-lasting brain fog and other cognitive issues.
These results could be especially concerning for Hispanic, Black and other underrepresented communities, which are already at higher risk for neurocognitive disorders.
The research was published in the journal Plos One.
“We’ve been looking at the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints, such as brain fog, and objective cognition in long COVID, particularly in ethnically and racially diverse groups in South Florida,” said Barbara Junco, M.Sc., clinical research project manager and first author on the study. “We found persistent subjective and objective cognitive issues even two years after infection, including brain fog, word-finding problems, working memory deficits and reduced processing speed.”
“Most Patients Have Never Fully Recovered”
Brain fog is a subjective cognitive issue that can include exhaustion, forgetfulness, fatigue and other traits. These and other long-COVID symptoms have forced more than a million Americans to withdraw from the workforce.
“Many patients told us they have never fully recovered,” said Junco. “Their memories are not the same. They can’t work anymore. Some study participants, who are in their fifties and were relatively healthy before COVID, are now disabled. They can no longer function independently.”
The study grew out of a patient registry maintained by Ayham Alkhachroum, M.D., associate professor of clinical neurology at the Miller School and senior author on the paper, which followed COVID patients who had spent time in the ICU. The research team contacted these patients two years after their hospitalization and asked them to complete a series of questionnaires and cognitive tests.
The study queried 41 patients and found their disease severity closely corresponded with their brain fog symptoms and reduced cognitive function. In addition, many of these patients experienced sleep disturbances, including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea.
The Consequences of the Pandemic
While these results contribute to our understanding of how long COVID is affecting people, it is an early effort in an area that warrants extended study.
“This research highlights the enduring consequences of the pandemic, particularly the burden faced by survivors and the need for further research to understand the mechanisms behind COVID-19-related cognitive decline and brain fog,” said co-author Alberto Ramos, M.D., professor of clinical neurology in the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Miller School. “We believe that, with further study, we can develop more effective treatments.”
The authors hope this research will encourage clinicians to pay closer attention to patients with long COVID. In some cases, people might benefit from cognitive rehabilitation or other clinical interventions.
“It’s important for health care providers to be aware of the potential for these long-lasting issues and consider incorporating cognitive testing into their follow-up care,” said Junco. “Early, mild cognitive impairment could put some patients at risk for dementia, and that will be a terrible burden on patients, families and society at large.”
Tags: Barbara Junco, Cognitive impairment, COVID-19, COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Alberto Ramos, Dr. Ayham Alkhachroum, long covid, neurology