The Covid-19 has not finished talking about him. According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, severe cases of the disease lead to severe cognitive impairment. The study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine is further proof of the harmful effects of the virus on the organism and the psychic state of an individual.
Worse and slower results
The study tested 46 patients aged 28 to 83, who were hospitalized in critical care because of Covid-19, between March and July 2021 at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. Among them, 16 had been placed on life support. To compare the results they obtained, the researchers also gave the tests to 66,000 other people from the general public. These tests showed that people cured of a long Covid obtained less precise results and with longer response times compared to the control population. The results obtained are below the estimates of the researchers.
A brain 20 years older
Serious cases of Covid-19 would therefore have an impact on the intelligence quotient of individuals, which can drop by 10 points in some cases. For comparison, cognitive losses are similar at 20 years of aging, between 50 and 70 years. Concretely, this translates into different aspects, such as difficulty in finding a word, a longer reaction time, or even the difficulty in completing verbal analogies.
A minority of mild cases
Mild forms of the coronavirus can also develop long-term cognitive symptoms, but only represent a minority. Conversely, the study shows that a large proportion of patients (between 33 and 76%) who have contracted a severe form of Covid-19 suffer from cognitive symptoms up to six months after their recovery.
Patients recovering from severe coronavirus infection may need longer-term care due to cognitive deficits, researchers say.