UK researchers from King’s College London have found that individuals experiencing long-term COVID-19 symptoms, including brain fog, showed reduced performance in tasks testing different mental processes up to two years after infection with the virus. The study, which involved over 3,000 participants, focused on memory, attention, reasoning, processing speed, and motor control.
The participants who had experienced symptoms related to COVID-19 for 12 weeks or more had the most significant decline in test accuracy, comparable to the effects of a 10-year increase in age. Importantly, participants who felt fully recovered after their COVID-19 infection did not display impaired test performance.
The researchers performed two rounds of online cognitive testing in 2021 and 2022, nine months apart. The average time since the participants’ initial COVID-19 infection was almost two years in the second round of testing.
Lead author Dr. Nathan Cheetham, a Senior Postdoctoral Data Scientist at King’s College London, said that the study’s findings suggest that the cognitive effects of COVID-19 can still be detected almost two years after the initial infection in people with long-term symptoms. However, he highlighted that individuals who felt fully recovered showed no significant cognitive impairment, even if they had experienced symptoms for several months.
Professor Claire Steves, a Professor of Ageing and Health at King’s College London, emphasized the need for more work to understand why some people don’t fully recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19 and to find ways to help them.
The study provides valuable insights into the cognitive impact of prolonged COVID-19 symptoms and emphasizes the importance of monitoring individuals whose brain function is most affected by the virus. Understanding the long-term effects and providing support for recovery is crucial for the well-being of those affected by long COVID.