Covid-19 can undermine our reasoning skills, according to a new study.
- People infected with Covid-19 whose symptoms disappear quickly have cognitive deficits similar to those who are not infected.
- In contrast, greater cognitive deficits were observed in individuals with persistent symptoms of Covid-19.
- Greater cognitive deficits were also observed in people who had been infected with the B.1.1 variant. of the virus.
Can Covid-19 reduce our intelligence? This is the question that researchers wanted to answer using from a new study.
“The cognitive symptoms associated with Covid-19 are now well known. However, the existence of objectively measurable cognitive deficits and the duration of their persistence are not yet clearly established,” explain the scientists at the start of their report.
To address this lack of data, they invited 800,000 British adults to complete an online assessment of their cognitive functions. “We estimated eight tasks,” specify the researchers.
“We also hypothesized that participants with persistent symptoms after the onset of infection would have objectively measurable cognitive deficits.” they add. “We also expected that executive function and memory impairments would be observed in these participants, particularly among those who had recently reported poor memory or difficulty thinking and concentrating (“brain fog”). they complete.
Covid-19: more cognitive disorders when the illness lasts
112,964 people completed the questionnaire. Result: participants infected with Covid-19 whose symptoms had disappeared quickly presented cognitive deficits similar to those of the group without infection.
On the other hand, greater cognitive deficits compared to the group without Covid-19 were observed in participants with persistent symptoms. Greater cognitive deficits were also observed in participants who had been infected with the B.1.1 variant. of the virus.
Cognitive disorders: what are the other symptoms of Covid-19?
In addition to anosmia, Covid-19 can also cause fever and cough. The infection sometimes also leads to viral lung damage and causes respiratory difficulty (dyspnea). Other manifestations may accompany or replace these symptoms in a less systematic way: muscle pain (myalgia), headache (headache), sore throat, nasal congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
“The sudden onset of a loss of taste (ageusia) is also one of the most discriminating signs for suspecting Covid-19”, adds Inserm. “Dermatologically, some people develop erythema (redness) or a rash, and more rarely frostbite, particularly on the toes,” indicates the research center.