Covid hospitalisation may affect thinking similar to 20 years of ageing

People who have been hospitalised with Covid may be left with difficulties in thinking comparable in magnitude to ageing 20 years, research suggests.

According to one UK study, about a third of patients who experienced symptoms after being hospitalised felt fully recovered a year later, with little improvement for most patients in areas including physical function and cognitive impairment.

Now experts have revealed that some patients were left with, on average, a lingering cognitive decline.

David Menon, a professor at Cambridge University and senior author of the study, said the degree of impairment was linked to the severity of illness.

The team compared the results with those of 460 people who took part in the BBC challenge and who had never had Covid. Ten people were matched for each patient according to characteristics such as age, gender, education and first language.

The results suggest those who were hospitalised with Covid had particular cognitive impairments, including slower processing speed.

The study suggests that while the cognitive impairments were distinct, the magnitude of the change was, on average, on a par with the cognitive decline seen as people age from 50 to 70 years old.

The team found no strong difference in the level of cognitive impairment between those who completed the tests six months after hospital admission and patients tested at 10 months, although there were hints of an improvement. The will return for further tests to see if a stronger association has emerged.

Menon added that investigating cognitive decline in Covid patients may not only help them but also those who experienced similar problems after other illnesses.