A - 23 Duration of COVID-19 Predicts Reports of Cognitive Symptoms

Abstract Objective Most individuals recover from COVID-19 within a few weeks; however, some develop chronic symptoms. COVID-19 can affect the brain, and some patients report cognitive issues. Symptom chronicity may be associated with a greater rate of cognitive complaints. This study examined the relationship between COVID-19 symptom duration and reported cognitive problems. Method An archival database was used for this study’s data analyses. United States residents were recruited through Qualtrics and surveyed on their COVID-19 experiences (N = 1918). 173 participants (42% female, 82% Caucasian/White) who reported active COVID-19 symptoms when completing the survey were included in the data analyses. Participants answered how long they had experienced COVID-19 symptoms (ordinal variable with seven levels) and a checklist of the symptoms they experienced, including five cognitive symptoms. Items were “Brain/mind fog,” “Difficulty Concentrating,” “Forgetfulness,” “Word finding problems,” and “Confusion.” Results Five logistic regressions were conducted with symptom duration as the predictor variable and reported cognitive symptoms as the dependent variables. COVID-19 symptom duration significantly predicted all self-reported cognitive issues. Symptom duration most strongly predicted forgetfulness, B = 0.39, SE = 0.11, Wald = 13.71, p < 0.001. The probability of reporting forgetfulness increased by 47% (Exp(B) = 1.47, 95%CI[1.20, 1.81]) per unit increase in symptom duration. Conclusions These results suggest that a longer duration of COVID-19 symptoms predicts cognitive complaints. As this is a cross-sectional database, directionality cannot be determined. Cognitive effects could derive from chronic illness or to other physiological and psychological changes in chronic COVID. Both possibilities imply that healthcare providers should consider cognitive symptoms when evaluating complaints of chronic COVID-19 patients.