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Risk factors for post-COVID cognitive dysfunctions: the impact of psychosocial vulnerability

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Abstract

Background

Cognitive dysfunction is a well-established manifestation of the post-COVID syndrome. Psychological vulnerability to stressors can modify disease trajectories, causing long-term risk for negative outcomes. Nonetheless, how premorbid risk factors and response to stressor affect neuropsychological changes is still incompletely understood. In this study, we explored the impact of psychosocial variables on cognitive functioning in a post-COVID sample.

Methods

All subjects were submitted to a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and an assessment of perceived loneliness, post-traumatic stress, and changes in anxiety and depression levels. A social vulnerability index was also calculated. The set of psycho-social variables was reduced to two Principal Component Analysis (PCA) components: distress and isolation.

Results

Forty-five percent of individuals showed cognitive impairments, with predominant memory and executive deficits. Post-traumatic stress disorder was clinically relevant in 44% of the sample. Social vulnerability scores of the sample were comparable to those of general population. The individual performance in learning and response initiation/suppression was directly related to distress component, encasing anxiety, stress, and depression measures.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that psychosocial assessment of post-COVID patients can detect fragile individuals at risk of cognitive impairments. Dedicated psychological support services may play a useful role in the prevention of post-COVID cognitive dysfunction.

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Data availability

The dataset of this study can be found in the Zenodo repository at the following doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7872417.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank prof. Stefano Cappa for his helpful comments. IRCCS Mondino Foundation was funded by Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente 2020-2022/2022–2024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Marta Picascia, Chiara Cerami, Sara Bernini, Alessandra Calculli, Simone Regalbuto & Antonio Pisani

  2. IUSS Cognitive Neuroscience (ICoN) Center, University School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Piazza della Vittoria 10, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Chiara Cerami & Andrea Panzavolta

  3. Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Alessandra Calculli, Simone Regalbuto & Antonio Pisani

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  1. Marta Picascia
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Correspondence to Chiara Cerami.

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The study protocol was approved by the local Ethical Committee of IRCCS Mondino Foundation (Pavia, Italy). Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.

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Picascia, M., Cerami, C., Panzavolta, A. et al. Risk factors for post-COVID cognitive dysfunctions: the impact of psychosocial vulnerability. Neurol Sci 44, 2635–2642 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06884-9

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