Professor Paul Harrison, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said: “Understanding the long-term cognitive and psychiatric consequences of hospitalisation with COVID-19 is important for many people, both patients and healthcare professionals. We hope that these findings will stimulate further research into the development of effective interventions to help prevent and treat these brain consequences of COVID-19.”
The researchers caution that while this study provides insight into the long-term effects of COVID-19, further research is essential to develop effective interventions. Understanding the biological mechanisms that drive these symptoms and identifying therapeutic strategies to promote cognitive recovery or prevent further decline are crucial next steps, they say.
The study sample consisted of people who were hospitalised during the first wave of the pandemic (and therefore unvaccinated at the time of infection) and who consented to follow-up assessments (only 20% of those invited), which may mean that the findings are not generalisable to others (e.g. people who did not require admission due to COVID-19).
Professor Chris Brightling, Clinical Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leicester, said: “This study reveals important long-term brain-related symptoms after COVID-19 and highlights the urgent need for a better understanding of long Covid illness and new treatments.”
PHOSP-COVID is a consortium of scientists from across the UK investigating the long-term health outcomes of patients hospitalised with COVID-19. The study was funded by MQ Mental Health Research and the Wolfson Foundationand supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres at Leicester and Oxford Health.
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