New data quantify post-Covid “brain fog”
People with persistent symptoms after Covid-19 infection (“long Covid”) often describe difficulty focusing and thinking, or “brain fog”. New large datasets are shining light on this phenomenon, most recently in NEJM.
Since early in the pandemic, the UK’s REACT program has used online surveys to monitor various aspects of Covid epidemiology, including cognitive impairment post-Covid.
Out of 800,000 people invited, more than 112,000 people in the UK enrolled and actually completed extensive detailed survey questions on persistent symptoms, and a battery of online cognitive testing. About half of participants had had documented prior Covid infection.
All people with prior Covid infection did worse on cognitive testing than those who had not had Covid:
Even those who felt they had recovered completely within 12 weeks had a decline in cognitive function: the equivalent of -3 IQ points, compared to those who had not contracted Covid (about -0.23 standard deviation).
People with any unresolved s…
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