Small study suggests cognition and mental health concerns after COVID-19 similar to other illnesses

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-03-24 02:00

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People hospitalised with COVID-19 are more likely to experience cognitive issues six months after admission than those hospitalised with another illness of similar severity, but the overall neuropsychiatric impacts of the virus are similar to other conditions, according to a small international study. To compare the mental impact of COVID-19 with other illnesses, the researchers matched 85 COVID-19 survivors with 61 people who suffered other, similarly severe illnesses, and tested their cognitive function and checked for any new mental health conditions six months after hospitalisation. The researchers say that while COVID-19 survivors were more likely to score lower on cognitive testing six months on, the overall health burden of cognitive and mental health issues at that time was comparable to those who recovered from non-COVID-19 illnesses.

Media release

From: JAMA

What The Study Did: Researchers compared cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric diagnoses and symptoms after six months in 85 COVID-19 survivors with 61 patients hospitalized for non-COVID-19 illness.

Authors: Michael E. Benros, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mental Health Center Copenhagen, and Daniel Kondziella, M.D., of Copenhagen University Hospital, are the corresponding authors.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Psychiatry

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

Funder: This work was supported by unrestricted grants from the Lundbeck Foundation (R349-2020-658 and R268-2016-3925) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF21OC0067769).

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