Named the unpleasant consequences of “brain fog” with prolonged COVID-19

A new study has shown that “brain fog” with long-term COVID-19 is comparable to ten years of aging. Symptoms of the infection can last up to two years, but researchers do not find permanent cognitive impairment after people fully recover.

The researchers suggested that the so-called “brain fog” symptom associated with the long course of covid is comparable to aging for 10 years, writes The Guardian.

In a study by King’s College London, researchers looked at the impact of COVID-19 on memory and found that cognitive impairment was most pronounced in people who tested positive and had symptoms for more than three months.

The study, published on Friday in the clinical journal The Lancet, also found that the symptoms of those affected have stretched nearly two years since the initial infection with the coronavirus.

“The fact remains that two years after the first infection, some people do not feel fully recovered, and the long-term effects of coronavirus continue to affect their lives,” said Claire Steves, professor of aging and health at King’s College. “We need to work harder to understand why this is and what can be done to help.”

As of January 2023, around two million people living in the UK are estimated to have reported long-term symptoms of COVID in the government’s 2023 census, with symptoms lasting more than four weeks from exposure.

Commonly reported symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath and muscle pain.

The study involved more than 5,100 participants from the Biobank of COVID symptoms collected using a smartphone app.

Using 12 cognitive tests that measure speed and accuracy, the researchers examined working memory, attention, thinking, and motor control between 2021 and 2022.

In a first cohort of 3,335 participants in July and August 2021, researchers found lower cognitive scores in those with positive COVID-19 infection, with the greatest deficits seen in those with symptoms for more than 12 weeks.

The study said that this deficit was comparable to the effect of “an increase in age of about 10 years or the manifestation of mild or moderate symptoms of a psychological disorder.”

However, this was less than other effects, such as having less education or being above a threshold level of fatigue, the study said. The researchers found no significant improvement in performance in the second round of 1,786 participants in April and June 2022, nine months after the first.

The study found no cognitive impairment in people who reported a full recovery from the coronavirus, even among those who had symptoms for more than three months, which the study’s lead author, Dr. Nathan Cheetham, called “the good news.”

“This study shows the need to follow up those people whose brain function is most affected by Covid-19 to see how their cognitive symptoms continue to develop and to provide support for their recovery,” Cheatham told PA news.