New studies show an association between COVID-19 and cognitive impairment in older patients, with one reporting memory problems and worse physical health 8 months after diagnosis and others finding cognitive decline and accelerated Alzheimer's disease symptoms as long as 6 months after infection.Memory problems, worse physical healthUniversity of Oslo researchers led the first study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
It involved 9,705 nonhospitalized adults in Norway who had been either tested for SARS-CoV-2 at four large labs from Feb 1 to Apr 15, 2020, or randomly selected (untested).
At that time, nearly all COVID-19 testing in Norway was in symptomatic patients. Participants, who completed the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, were,