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The impact of Post-COVID-19 Brain Fog Symptoms among older adults: A cross-sectional online study

cognitive-disorders
public-health
mental-health
covid-19

Abstract

Background. Data remain limited regarding the persistence of post-COVID-19 "brain fog". We aimed to assess the impact of post-COVID-19 brain fog symptoms in Chinese older adults using a cross-sectional study.
Methods. Based on Cognitive Dysfunction Self-Rating Scales and considering the common symptoms of post-COVID-19 brain fog, we assessed participants using a self-report brain fog symptom scale across multiple dimensions, including attention, comprehension, memory, emotion, motivation, and sleep . A total of 1698 older adults over 50 years of age completed the questionnaire. We compared differences in brain fog symptoms between different participants and performed a multivariable linear regression to identify factors that might be associated with brain fog symptoms .
Results. The results showed that older adults infected with COVID-19 had significantly higher self-reported brain fog scores than uninfected participants ( p = 0.005) . Among the infected participants, females had significantly higher scores on the self-report brain fog scale than males ( p = 0.007). Specifically, the self-reported brain fog scores of the participants infected for 1-6 months were significantly higher than those of the uninfected participants ( p = 0.003). Participants infected for more than 6 months did not have significantly different self-reported brain fog scores from uninfected participants ( p = 0.118). Multivariable linear regression showed that female sex and rural residence significantly increased brain fog risk.
Conclusions. Older adults manifested more pronounced brain fog symptoms following COVID-19, with gradual resolution observed by 6 months post-infection . Therefore, appropriate interventions should be considered for post-COVID-19 older adults to maintain cognitive health .
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