Premium
Investigating the prevalence of cognitive impairment in mild and moderate COVID‐19 patients two months post‐discharge: Associations with physical fitness and respiratory function
Author(s) -
Vavougios George D.,
Stavrou Vasileios,
Papayianni Eirini,
Fradelos Evangelos C,
Astara Kyriaki,
Tourlakopoulos Konstantinos,
Boutlas Stylianos,
Gourgoulianis Konstantinos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.057752
Subject(s) - medicine , montreal cognitive assessment , epworth sleepiness scale , physical therapy , spirometry , outpatient clinic , dementia , disease , polysomnography , asthma , apnea
Background The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence and associations of cognitive impairment in previously COVID‐19 patients 2 months after discharge. Method Our study included previously hospitalized, consecutive COVID‐19 patients with mild to moderate disease, followed up 2 months post discharge at a tertiary hospital’s outpatient clinic during May 2021. Exclusion criteria included intensive care unit admission, intubation, or a history of neurodegenerative disease and stroke prior to COVID‐19. Prior to inclusion, eligible patients had provided written informed consent. The full battery of measurements in our study included demographics, medical and family history, anthropometrics, the 6‐minute walk test (6MWT), the Borg Dyspnea Scale, spirometry, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Short Form 36 health Survey (SF‐36), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Symptom Checklist 90‐R (SLC90‐R), reactive oxygen metabolites (dROMs) and plasma antioxidant capacity (PAT test; FRAS5, Parma, Italy). Cognitive impairment was considered on a MoCA cutoff ≤24. Data are presented as mean ±SD or Frequencies (%). Correlations between continuous data were assessed via the Spearman’s Rho correlation coefficient, whereas associations were assessed via multiple linear regression (MLR) models. For all tests, a p‐value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 32 subjects were included in the study (35 Male, 17 Female; Mean age of 61.6±9.4). A total of 56.2% presented with cognitive decline (CD) as indicated by a MoCA score <24. Principal component analysis revealed that short‐term memory impairments and multidomain impairment without short‐term memory deficits were the predominant patterns of cognitive impairment. MoCA score correlated with age (ρ=‐0.513, p=0.003), waist circumference (ρ=‐0.388, p=0.028) waist to hip ratio (ρ=‐0.361, p=0.042) and SpO 2 during 6MWT (1 st , 4 th and 6 th minute; p<0.05). MLR indicated that after adjusting for age and gender, SpO 2 at the 6 th minute of the 6MWT was independently associated with MoCA score (Beta=0.579, p‐value=0.001). Conclusion Our findings indicated that among 32 outpatient clinic subjects, 56.2% presented with cognitive decline. The associations with oxygen saturation and physical condition as detected by the 6MWT may indicate overlap with post‐COVID‐19 fatigue and warrants further investigation.