A study has been published in the scientific journal The Lancet which indicates that patients who have recovered from COVID-19 may have severe cognitive problems. They scored worse on intelligence tests than people who were not infected with the coronavirus.
How does COVID-19 affect the brain and intelligence?
Researchers around the world are trying to explore the so-called long tail COVID-19, or ailments that stay with healers for many months. Patients most often complain of chronic fatigue, but neurological disorders are a large group of symptoms. Among them, there is often, for example, brain fog, headaches, depressed mood.
Adam Hampshire from Imperial College London and his team checked the cognitive problems of people who had been infected with the coronavirus. The results of the study were published in «The Lancet» – all available HERE.
Over 80 people completed an intelligence test. Among them there were over 12 thousand. participants who reported having been through COVID-19. After analysis, it turned out that the survivors scored worse in the intelligence test than those who never caught the virus.
The greatest deficits were observed in tasks requiring reasoning, planning and problem solving. According to researchers, this is in line with reports of the long-term effects of COVID-19. Brain fog makes it difficult for many people to concentrate or find the right words.
– It looks like the virus can affect our cognition. We don’t quite understand how or why, but we urgently need to find out, ‘Hampshire told PsyPost. He also called for caution and vaccination against COVID-19.
During the study, it turned out that people who were seriously ill have the greatest problems, especially those who require hospitalization and connection to a ventilator. The cognitive deficits in such patients were greater than in those who had suffered a stroke.
It should be emphasized that due to the methods of conducting this study, it is not possible to draw clear conclusions from it, but only potential dependencies. Only 275 people took an IQ test before and after undergoing COVID-19.
Have you been infected with COVID-19 and are worried about the side effects? Check your health by performing a comprehensive test package for convalescents.
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