Prevalence and co-occurrence of cognitive impairment in children and young people up to 12-months post infection with SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron variant)
•12 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, around 7 % of children and young people report ‘brain fog’ i.e., cognitive impairment.•2.4% of children and young people experienced persistent cognitive impairment at 3-, 6- and 12-months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.•12 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, more f...
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Published in | Brain, behavior, and immunity Vol. 119; pp. 989 - 994 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Elsevier Inc
01.07.2024
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | •12 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, around 7 % of children and young people report ‘brain fog’ i.e., cognitive impairment.•2.4% of children and young people experienced persistent cognitive impairment at 3-, 6- and 12-months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.•12 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, more females, white ethnicities, and older at the time of first infection, children and young people reported cognitive impairment.•Cognitive impairment co-occurs with poorer mental health, fatigue and sleep problems.
Cognitive impairment is often reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection, yet evidence gaps remain. We aimed to (i) report the prevalence and characteristics of children and young people (CYP) reporting “brain fog” (i.e., cognitive impairment) 12-months post PCR-proven SARS-CoV-2 infection and determine whether differences by infection status exist and (ii) explore the prevalence of CYP experiencing cognitive impairment over a 12-month period post-infection and investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and poor mental health and well-being, mental fatigue and sleep problems.
The Omicron CLoCk sub-study, set up in January 2022, collected data on first-time PCR-test-positive and PCR-proven reinfected CYP at time of testing and at 3-, 6- and 12-months post-testing. We describe the prevalence of cognitive impairment at 12-months, indicating when it was first reported. We characterise CYP experiencing cognitive impairment and use chi-squared tests to determine whether cognitive impairment prevalence varied by infection status. We explore the relationship between cognitive impairment and poor mental health and well-being, mental fatigue and trouble sleeping using validated scales. We examine associations at 3-, 6- and 12-months post-testing by infection status using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests.
At 12-months post-testing, 7.0 % (24/345) of first-positives and 7.5 % (27/360) of reinfected CYP experienced cognitive impairment with no difference between infection-status groups (p = 0.78). The majority of these CYP experienced cognitive impairment for the first time at either time of testing or 3-months post-test (no difference between the infection-status groups; p = 0.60). 70.8 % of first-positives experiencing cognitive impairment at 12-months, were 15-to-17-years-old as were 33.3 % of reinfected CYP experiencing cognitive impairment (p < 0.01). Consistently at all time points post-testing, CYP experiencing cognitive impairment were more likely to score higher on all Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire subscales, higher on the Chalder Fatigue sub-scale for mental fatigue, lower on the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and report more trouble sleeping.
CYP have a fluctuating experience of cognitive impairment by 12-months post SARS-CoV-2-infection. Cognitive impairment is consistently correlated with poorer sleep, behavioural and emotional functioning over a 12-month period. Clinicians should be aware of cognitive impairment post-infection and its co-occurring nature with poorer sleep, behavioural and mental health symptoms. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0889-1591 1090-2139 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.05.001 |