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Patients With Long-Haul COVID-19 Report Persistent Neurocognitive Symptoms
Although patients with prolonged or long-haul COVID-19 improved in other areas, their neurocognitive symptoms continued 6 months after the onset of their illness, according to study findings published online in the journal Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior.
“The symptoms hanging on most for COVID-19 long-haulers are sometimes referred to as ‘brain fog,’” said study lead author and psychologist Leonard A. Jason, PhD, director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois. “People have trouble problem solving, or they get in the car and forget where they’re supposed to be going.”
For the study, Dr. Jason and colleagues surveyed 278 patients with long-haul COVID-19, defined as serious, prolonged symptoms 3 months after contracting the SARS CoV-2 virus. The questionnaires addressed symptoms during the first 2 weeks of illness and 6 months after. Researchers also surveyed 502 patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) about their symptoms, which overlap significantly with COVID-19 symptoms.
According to the results, patients with long-haul COVID-19 reported worse neurocognitive symptoms at the 6-month mark compared with the outset of illness. Symptoms included difficulty forming words, trouble focusing, and absent-mindedness.
However, symptoms such as sleep problems, immune-related issues, pain, and gastrointestinal issues appeared to get better with time among those with long-haul COVID-19.
For patients with long-haul COVID-19 and those with ME/CFS, the most severe symptom was postexertional malaise, researchers reported, or feeling physically and mentally drained.
“These types of differential patterns of symptoms over time might contribute to helping better understand the pathophysiology of those reporting prolonged illness following COVID-19,” researchers wrote.
—Jolynn Tumolo
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