Age-dependent phenotypes of cognitive impairment as sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

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  • Gabriela Gonzalez Alemán
    Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina
  • George D Vavougios
    University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
  • Carmela Tartaglia
    Toronto Western Hospital
  • Nalakath A Uvais
    Iqraa International Hospital and Research Centre
  • Giovanni d'Avossa
  • Daria Neidre
    The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases Joe and Teresa Long School of Medicine University of Texas Health San Antonio San Antonio Texas USA.
  • Gabriel de Erausquin
    Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas in San Antonio
Cognitive changes associated with PASC may not be uniform across populations. We conducted individual-level pooled analyses and meta-analyses of cognitive assessments from eight prospective cohorts, comprising 2,105 patients and 1,432 controls from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Greece, India, Italy, Russia, and the UK. The meta-analysis found no differences by country of origin. The profile and severity of cognitive impairment varied by age, with mild attentional impairment observed in young and middle-aged adults, but memory, language, and executive function impairment in older adults. The risk of moderate to severe impairment doubled in older adults. Moderately severe or severe impairment was significantly associated with infection diagnoses (chi-square = 26.57, p ≤ 0.0001) and the severity of anosmia (chi-square = 31.81, p ≤ 0.0001). We found distinct age-related phenotypes of cognitive impairment in patients recovering from COVID-19. We identified the severity of acute illness and the presence of olfactory dysfunction as the primary predictors of dementia-like impairment in older adults.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalFrontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Volume16
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 7 Jan 2025
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