Cognitive dysfunction 1 year after COVID-19: evidence from eye tracking.

Increasing evidence suggests persistent cognitive dysfunction after COVID-19. In this cross-sectional study, frontal lobe function was assessed 12 months after the acute phase of the disease, using tailored eye tracking assessments. Individuals who recovered from COVID-19 made significantly more errors in all eye tracking tasks compared to age/sex-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, patients who were treated as inpatients performed worse compared to outpatients and controls. Our results show impaired inhibitory cortical control in individuals who recovered from COVID-19. The association between disease severity and its sequelae may contribute to a better understanding of post-COVID-19 cognitive function.

Neurological outcome and quality of life 3 months after COVID-19: A prospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess neurological manifestations and health-related quality of life (QoL) 3 months after COVID-19. METHODS: In this prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study we systematically evaluated neurological signs and diseases by detailed neurological examination and a predefined test battery assessing smelling disorders (16-item Sniffin Sticks test), cognitive deficits (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), QoL (36-item Short Form), and mental health (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5) 3 months after disease onset. RESULTS: Of 135 consecutive COVID-19 patients, 31 (23%) required intensive care unit (ICU) care (severe), 72 (53%) were admitted to the regular ward (moderate), and 32 (24%) underwent outpatient care (mild) during acute disease. At the 3-month follow-up, 20 patients (15%) presented with one or more neurological syndromes that were not evident before COVID-19. These included polyneuro/myopathy (n = 17, 13%) with one patient presenting with Guillain-Barré syndrome, mild encephalopathy (n = 2, 2%), parkinsonism (n = 1, 1%), orthostatic hypotension (n = 1, 1%), and ischemic stroke (n = 1, 1%). Objective testing revealed hyposmia/anosmia in 57/127 (45%) patients at the 3-month follow-up. Self-reported hyposmia/anosmia was lower (17%) at 3 months, however, improved when compared to the acute disease phase (44%; p < 0.001). At follow-up, cognitive deficits were apparent in 23%, and QoL was impaired in 31%. Assessment of mental health revealed symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorders in 11%, 25%, and 11%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recovery from the acute infection, neurological symptoms were prevalent at the 3-month follow-up. Above all, smelling disorders were persistent in a large proportion of patients.

Factors associated with impaired quality of life three months after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To assess patient characteristics associated with health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and its mental and physical subcategories 3 months after diagnosis with COVID-19. METHODS: In this prospective multicentre cohort study, HR-QoL was assessed in 90 patients using the SF-36 questionnaire (36-item Short Form Health Survey), which consists of 8 health domains that can be divided into a mental and physical health component. Mental health symptoms including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5 (PCL-5) 3 months after COVID-19. Using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression analysis, we identified factors associated with impaired HR-QoL 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. RESULTS: Patients were 55 years of age (IQR, 49-63; 39% women) and were classified as severe (23%), moderate (57%), or mild (20%) according to acute disease severity. HR-QoL was impaired in 28/90 patients (31%). Younger age [per year, adjOR (95%CI) 0.94 (0.88-1.00), p = 0.049], longer hospitalization [per day, adjOR (95%CI) 1.07 (1.01-1.13), p = 0.015], impaired sleep [adjOR (95%CI) 5.54 (1.2-25.61), p = 0.028], and anxiety [adjOR (95%CI) 15.67 (3.03-80.99), p = 0.001) were independently associated with impaired HR-QoL. Twenty-nine percent (n = 26) scored below the normal range on the mental health component of the SF-36 and independent associations emerged for anxiety, depression, and self-reported numbness. Impairments in the physical health component of the SF-36 were reported by 12 (13%) patients and linked to hypogeusia and fatigue. CONCLUSION: Every third patient reported a reduction in HR-QoL 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis and impairments were more prominent in mental than physical well-being.

Understanding of Numerical Information during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Media news during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic often entail complex numerical concepts such as exponential increase or reproduction number. This study investigated whether people have difficulties in understanding such information and whether these difficulties are related to numerical competence, reflective thinking, and risk proneness. One hundred sixty-three participants provided answers to a numeracy scale focusing on complex numerical concepts relevant to COVID-19 (COV Numeracy Scale). They also provided responses to well-established objective and subjective scales, questions about affective states, and questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher scores on the COV Numeracy Scale correlated with higher scores on the Health Numeracy Scale, in the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), and in self-assessments of verbal comprehension, mathematical intelligence, and subjective numeracy. Interestingly, scores on the COV Numeracy Scale also positively correlated with the number of consulted information sources about COVID-19. Accuracy in the CRT emerged as a significant predictor, explaining ca. 14% of variance on the COV Numeracy Scale. The results suggest that people with lower reflective thinking skills and lower subjective and objective numerical competence can be more at disadvantage when confronted with COVID-related numerical information in everyday life. These findings advise caution in the communication of relevant public health information that entails complex numerical concepts.