TY - JOUR

T1 - Cognitive impairments four months after COVID-19 hospital discharge

T2 - Pattern, severity and association with illness variables

AU - Miskowiak, K. W.

AU - Johnsen, S.

AU - Sattler, S. M.

AU - Nielsen, S.

AU - Kunalan, K.

AU - Rungby, J.

AU - Lapperre, T.

AU - Porsberg, C. M.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank the Department of Pulmonology Medicine and Respiratory Research Unit , Bispebjerg University Hospital, for the financial support for the study. KWM would like to thank the Lundbeck Foundation for her five-year Lundbeck Foundation Fellowship (grant no. R215-2015-4121 ). We thank miss Beata Trawińska for her work with creating Figure 1. Publisher Copyright: © 2021

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected more than 100 million people and clinics are being established for diagnosing and treating lingering symptoms, so called long-COVID. A key concern are neurological and long-term cognitive complications. At the same time, the prevalence and nature of the cognitive sequalae of COVID-19 are unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency, pattern and severity of cognitive impairments 3–4 months after COVID-19 hospital discharge, their relation to subjective cognitive complaints, quality of life and illness variables. We recruited patients at their follow-up visit at the respiratory outpatient clinic, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg, approximately four months after hospitalisation with COVID-19. Patients underwent pulmonary, functional and cognitive assessments. Twenty-nine patients were included. The percentage of patients with clinically significant cognitive impairment ranged from 59% to 65% depending on the applied cut-off for clinical relevance of cognitive impairment, with verbal learning and executive functions being most affected. Objective cognitive impairment scaled with subjective cognitive complaints, lower work function and poorer quality of life. Cognitive impairments were associated with d-dimer levels during acute illness and residual pulmonary dysfunction. In conclusion, these findings provide new evidence for frequent cognitive sequelae of COVID-19 and indicate an association with the severity of the lung affection and potentially restricted cerebral oxygen delivery. Further, the associations with quality of life and functioning call for systematic cognitive screening of patients after recovery from severe COVID-19 illness and implementation of targeted treatments for patients with persistent cognitive impairments.

AB - The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected more than 100 million people and clinics are being established for diagnosing and treating lingering symptoms, so called long-COVID. A key concern are neurological and long-term cognitive complications. At the same time, the prevalence and nature of the cognitive sequalae of COVID-19 are unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency, pattern and severity of cognitive impairments 3–4 months after COVID-19 hospital discharge, their relation to subjective cognitive complaints, quality of life and illness variables. We recruited patients at their follow-up visit at the respiratory outpatient clinic, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg, approximately four months after hospitalisation with COVID-19. Patients underwent pulmonary, functional and cognitive assessments. Twenty-nine patients were included. The percentage of patients with clinically significant cognitive impairment ranged from 59% to 65% depending on the applied cut-off for clinical relevance of cognitive impairment, with verbal learning and executive functions being most affected. Objective cognitive impairment scaled with subjective cognitive complaints, lower work function and poorer quality of life. Cognitive impairments were associated with d-dimer levels during acute illness and residual pulmonary dysfunction. In conclusion, these findings provide new evidence for frequent cognitive sequelae of COVID-19 and indicate an association with the severity of the lung affection and potentially restricted cerebral oxygen delivery. Further, the associations with quality of life and functioning call for systematic cognitive screening of patients after recovery from severe COVID-19 illness and implementation of targeted treatments for patients with persistent cognitive impairments.

KW - Cognitive impairment

KW - COVID-19

KW - Pulmonary dysfunction

KW - Quality of life

U2 - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.03.019

DO - 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.03.019

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33823427

AN - SCOPUS:85103734282

VL - 46

SP - 39

EP - 48

JO - European Neuropsychopharmacology

JF - European Neuropsychopharmacology

SN - 0924-977X

ER -