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The cognitive abilities of people who were hospitalised with covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic remain lower than expected, even years later, and there is some evidence that this is forcing them to change jobs.
“What we found is that the average cognitive deficit was equivalent to 10 IQ points, based on what would be expected for their age, et cetera,” says Maxime Taquet at the University of Oxford.
His team looked at 475 people in the UK who had been hospitalised with covid-19 and discharged before 31 March 2021. All had completed psychiatric and cognitive assessments six months after their discharge from hospital as part of another study. Taquet’s team asked them to repeat the assessments two to three years later and found that, on average, peoples’ symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue had worsened. “More people are getting worse than getting better,” says Taquet.
Overall, 47 per cent had moderate to severe depression at the second assessment compared with 34 per cent at six months, while 40 per cent had moderate to severe fatigue compared with 26 per cent in the first tests. The proportion of people with moderate to severe anxiety saw a smaller change, rising from 23 per cent to 27 per cent.
The results of the cognitive assessments were unchanged, with an average cognitive deficit equivalent to 10 IQ points at both initial and follow-up tests. As the participants weren’t tested before being hospitalised, there is no baseline to compare to, says team member Paul Harrison, also at the University of Oxford. Instead, the team compared the results to what would be expected for people of the same age, sex and education level, based on a survey called the Great British Intelligence Test.
www.newscientist.com
“What we found is that the average cognitive deficit was equivalent to 10 IQ points, based on what would be expected for their age, et cetera,” says Maxime Taquet at the University of Oxford.
His team looked at 475 people in the UK who had been hospitalised with covid-19 and discharged before 31 March 2021. All had completed psychiatric and cognitive assessments six months after their discharge from hospital as part of another study. Taquet’s team asked them to repeat the assessments two to three years later and found that, on average, peoples’ symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue had worsened. “More people are getting worse than getting better,” says Taquet.
Overall, 47 per cent had moderate to severe depression at the second assessment compared with 34 per cent at six months, while 40 per cent had moderate to severe fatigue compared with 26 per cent in the first tests. The proportion of people with moderate to severe anxiety saw a smaller change, rising from 23 per cent to 27 per cent.
The results of the cognitive assessments were unchanged, with an average cognitive deficit equivalent to 10 IQ points at both initial and follow-up tests. As the participants weren’t tested before being hospitalised, there is no baseline to compare to, says team member Paul Harrison, also at the University of Oxford. Instead, the team compared the results to what would be expected for people of the same age, sex and education level, based on a survey called the Great British Intelligence Test.
People who had severe covid-19 show cognitive decline years later
An analysis of people who were hospitalised with covid-19 in the first wave of the pandemic has revealed that the ongoing decline in their cognitive abilities is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points
