COVID-19 may impair the cognitive abilities of people who get the infectious disease in a way that lowers IQ, a study of patients in London, England has revealed.
These impacts on brain function are equivalent to the brain aging by 10 years or so, warn researchers. The cognitive deficits can include a decline that is equivalent to a drop in IQ of as much as 8.5 points.
Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a measure of reasoning abilities and can be used to gauge how well a person can use information and logic to assess questions and create answers. Most people have an IQ score between 85 and 115.
The study was spearheaded by the Imperial College London in October 2020. It included researchers from other institutions and showed there are potential chronic cognitive consequences of having COVID-19.
The research team analyzed the results of more than 84,000 people who participated in a non-peer-reviewed study called the Great British Intelligence Test.
The study found that the coronavirus infection can be linked to significant cognitive decline that can stretch for months. Researchers noted that even people who had recovered and were no longer reporting symptoms exhibited significant cognitive deficits.
One third of the patients suffered cognitive impairment similar to a traumatic brain injury. Problems included gaps in memory, attention and in some cases, difficulties performing simple functions.
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Patients who recovered did worse on cognitive tests in various areas than is normally expected for their age. Patients with more severe symptoms of COVID did worse than others. The cognitive deficits were found even among patients of the pandemic who were not hospitalized. Those who were hospitalized were hit the hardest.
Cognitive tests show the capabilities of the brain to perform tasks such as remembering words. The results were more pronounced in tests that assessed semantic problem solving and visual selective attention. The mechanisms for cognitive decline after such a severe infection include inflammation.
A team from Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, King’s College London and the University of College did the research.
There is a ways to go in determining the full impact of the disease, however. Critics of the research say that while it is intriguing, it is not conclusive, and that at the least it suggests more research in this area is needed.
The team itself wrote that the research is a “clarion call” for further investigation into the extent to which cognition is impacted after COVID infection.