TY - JOUR
T1 - Neuropsychological, Medical, and Psychiatric Findings After Recovery From Acute COVID-19
T2 - A Cross-sectional Study
AU - Ferrando, Stephen J.
AU - Dornbush, Rhea
AU - Lynch, Sean
AU - Shahar, Sivan
AU - Klepacz, Lidia
AU - Karmen, Carol L.
AU - Chen, Donald
AU - Lobo, Stephen A.
AU - Lerman, Dania
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
PY - 2022/9/1
Y1 - 2022/9/1
N2 - Background: Persistent cognitive, medical and psychiatric complaints have been extensively described after recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objective: To describe neuropsychological, medical, psychiatric, and functional correlates of cognitive complaints experienced after recovery from acute COVID-19 infection. Methods: Sixty participants underwent neuropsychological, psychiatric, medical, functional, and quality-of-life assessments 6–8 months after acute COVID-19. Those seeking care for cognitive complaints in a post-COVID-19 clinical program for post-acute symptoms of COVID-19 (clinical group, N = 32) were compared with those recruited from the community who were not seeking care (nonclinical, N = 28). A subset of participants underwent serological testing for proinflammatory cytokines C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α to explore correlations with neuropsychological, psychiatric, and medical variables. Results: For the entire sample, 16 (27%) had extremely low test scores (less than second percentile on at least 1 neuropsychological test). The clinical group with cognitive complaints scored lower than age-adjusted population norms in tests of attention, processing speed, memory, and executive function and scored significantly more in the extremely low range than the nonclinical group (38% vs. 14%, P < 0.04). The clinical group also reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, and functional difficulties and lower quality of life. In logistic regression analysis, scoring in the extremely low range was predicted by acute COVID-19 symptoms, current depression score, number of medical comorbidities, and subjective cognitive complaints in the areas of memory, language, and executive functions. Interleukin-6 correlated with acute COVID symptoms, number of medical comorbidities, fatigue, and inversely with measures of executive function. C-reactive protein correlated with current COVID symptoms and depression score but inversely with quality of life. Conclusion: Results suggest the existence of extremely low neuropsychological test performance experienced by some individuals months after acute COVID-19 infection, affecting multiple neurocognitive domains. This extremely low neuropsychological test performance is associated with worse acute COVID-19 symptoms, depression, medical comorbidities, functional complaints, and subjective cognitive complaints. Exploratory correlations with proinflammatory cytokines support further research into inflammatory mechanisms and viable treatments.
AB - Background: Persistent cognitive, medical and psychiatric complaints have been extensively described after recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objective: To describe neuropsychological, medical, psychiatric, and functional correlates of cognitive complaints experienced after recovery from acute COVID-19 infection. Methods: Sixty participants underwent neuropsychological, psychiatric, medical, functional, and quality-of-life assessments 6–8 months after acute COVID-19. Those seeking care for cognitive complaints in a post-COVID-19 clinical program for post-acute symptoms of COVID-19 (clinical group, N = 32) were compared with those recruited from the community who were not seeking care (nonclinical, N = 28). A subset of participants underwent serological testing for proinflammatory cytokines C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α to explore correlations with neuropsychological, psychiatric, and medical variables. Results: For the entire sample, 16 (27%) had extremely low test scores (less than second percentile on at least 1 neuropsychological test). The clinical group with cognitive complaints scored lower than age-adjusted population norms in tests of attention, processing speed, memory, and executive function and scored significantly more in the extremely low range than the nonclinical group (38% vs. 14%, P < 0.04). The clinical group also reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, and functional difficulties and lower quality of life. In logistic regression analysis, scoring in the extremely low range was predicted by acute COVID-19 symptoms, current depression score, number of medical comorbidities, and subjective cognitive complaints in the areas of memory, language, and executive functions. Interleukin-6 correlated with acute COVID symptoms, number of medical comorbidities, fatigue, and inversely with measures of executive function. C-reactive protein correlated with current COVID symptoms and depression score but inversely with quality of life. Conclusion: Results suggest the existence of extremely low neuropsychological test performance experienced by some individuals months after acute COVID-19 infection, affecting multiple neurocognitive domains. This extremely low neuropsychological test performance is associated with worse acute COVID-19 symptoms, depression, medical comorbidities, functional complaints, and subjective cognitive complaints. Exploratory correlations with proinflammatory cytokines support further research into inflammatory mechanisms and viable treatments.
KW - COVID-19
KW - cognitive complaints
KW - neuropsychiatry
KW - neuropsychological testing
KW - post-acute symptoms of COVID-19 (PASC)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125860799&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.01.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.01.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 35085824
AN - SCOPUS:85125860799
SN - 2667-2960
VL - 63
SP - 474
EP - 484
JO - Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
JF - Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
IS - 5
ER -