Heavy COVID-19 “adds” years to the brain. How much? Scientists have calculated exactly

The coronavirus pandemic is temporarily fading, in recent days there have been fewer and fewer cases of cases of disease and deaths due to COVID-19. At the same time, we learn more and more about the scale of the so-called long COVID-19. More than half of those who have had the infection experience it. Long COVID-19 negatively affects mental health by significantly worsening cognitive functions. This is especially true of people who have had a severe illness that requires hospitalization.

1. Long covid concerns – according to various studies – from 20 to 80 percent. people
2. The long-term effects of coronavirus infection are experienced by both those who have had the infection mildly and those who require hospitalization, but in the latter case they are more serious
3. Recent research by British scientists has shown that a hospital stay due to the coronavirus affects cognitive functions, which can be compared to the aging of the brain between the ages of 50 and 70.
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

A small proportion of those hospitalized due to COVID-19 recover fully

The longer the coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, the more data showing that COVID-19 not only causes immediate health problems, but also affects mental and physical health up to two years after the infection (perhaps even longer, but we’ll be more about that) they might find out in a while).

We recently wrote that, according to British research, only 26 to 29 percent of people requiring hospitalization due to coronavirus. it is fully healthy after five months or a year. After this time, most patients experience deterioration of both physical and mental performance (Find out more: One year after COVID-19. What is the condition of hospitalized people?).

The most frequently reported complaints that persist one year after discharge from the hospital include: fatigue (60,1% of patients), muscle pain (54,6%), deterioration of physical efficiency (52,9%), sleep problems (52,3, 51,4%), dyspnea (47,6%), joint pain or swelling (46,7%), difficulty concentrating (46,6%), headache (44,6%), short-term memory loss (41,9%) and limb weakness (XNUMX%).

COVID-19 worsens cognitive functions in the long term

Now another study has emerged looking at the long-term effects of severe COVID-19 on cognition. British «The Guardian» writes about it. The author of the study, prof. David Menon of the University of Cambridge said that the degree of mental impairment depended on the severity of the disease.

“COVID-19 causes ailments related to many organs in the human body, including the brain, cognitive functions and our mental health,” he explains. – If you are vaccinated and take all the necessary doses, your illness will be milder. And thus – all problems related to the mental condition will be smaller – he adds.

In an article published in the eClinicalMedicine journal, part of the prestigious “The Lancet”, Menon and his colleagues describe the results of studies conducted on 46 patients on average six months after admission to Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge. The patients were admitted to the facility between March and July 2020. 16 people from this group required breathing support.

Cognitive tests were performed using the Cognitron platform, developed by scientists from Imperial College London.

A team of researchers compared the group’s results with those of 460 people who had not had a history of coronavirus infection. The number 460 is not accidental. Ten people were selected for each of the hospitalized according to such characteristics as age, sex, education and mother tongue.

A hospital stay for COVID-19 ages the brain by 20 years

As it turned out? People hospitalized for COVID-19 showed significant cognitive impairment after six months, in particular the slower pace of information processing. Coronavirus survivors were less accurate and slower in answering questions compared to the corresponding control groups.

“What they struggled most was verbal intelligence,” Menon said, citing as an example his problems with reasoning the analogies of “shoelaces are shoes” and “buttons are cloaks.”

The study found that the magnitude of this change related to cognitive function can be compared with the decline in cognitive function associated with aging between the ages of 50 and 70.

The deterioration of these abilities in the above-mentioned group was also tested 10 months after leaving the hospital. The difference was small, in favor of the longer period since hospitalization. These slight signs of improvement will be the subject of further studies to see if the passing of time is actually having a significant beneficial effect.

Menon added that the study of cognitive decline in COVID-19 patients could help not only people suffering from the coronavirus, but also those who have experienced similar problems after other diseases.

– The next research that we will be able to carry out may allow us to understand the basic mechanisms behind these changes and to develop effective therapies to be able to prevent it and possibly also treat it – he noted.

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