Open AccessCognitive impairment associated with COVID-19: a literature review
Author(s) -
Ana Carolina Pereira Garcia,
Alice Campos Meneses,
Ana Karolinne Cruz Cavalcante,
Caroline Rodrigues de Morais,
Gabriel Dias Henz,
Gabriela Rodrigues Pessôa,
Liana Lisboa Fernandez
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.683
Subject(s) - cognition , medicine , neuropsychology , apathy , anxiety , dementia , delirium , anosmia , executive functions , disease , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , pathology , covid-19 , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background: SARS-CoV-2 is capable of causing neurological symptoms of the CNS in addition to respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. Early knowledge of the possible cognitive functions compromised by the infection will allow the health system to anticipate and create measures to minimize irreversible damage. Objectives: to analyze the cognitive impairment associated with COVID-19, taking into account its pathophysiological mechanisms and their short and long-term consequences. Methods: Narrative review of 62 articles, based on an active search on the PubMed, Google Scholar, Jama and American Academy of Neurology research platforms. Results: Cognitive impairment can be present both during and after infection. The main risk factors for cognitive impairments in the short term are: other neurological symptoms (headache, anosmia, dysgeusia); diarrhea and oxygen therapy. The main cognitive functions affected were memory, attention, executive functions (mental flexibility) and language (semantic and phonetic fluency) associated with anxiety and depression. The factors that contribute to long-term cognitive decline are: previous cognitive weakness (comorbidities); the inflammatory process of COVID-19 with pulmonary (hypoxia), vascular (ischemia), neurological (neuronal damage) and hospitalization (sedation, isolation, delirium). The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus infections. Conclusion: Short-term and long-term cognitive impairment associated with COVID-19 may be related to the increased likelihood of cognitive impairment, as well as the acceleration of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Follow-up with neuropsychological assessments of these patients and epidemiological studies are necessary to analyze this impact and to create prevention and treatment programs.