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As per the study, people who have recovered from Covid-19 may face problems in cognitive tasks such as thinking and attention. The study was administered on over 80,000 individuals. It is published by the journal EClinicalMedicine. The study found that people with more severe Covid-19 symptoms scored lower on an online series of tests, with performance on reasoning and problem-solving tasks being most affected.

Further findings of the data indicated that people who received mechanical ventilation to help them breathe while in the hospital had the greatest impairment on cognitive tasks. “Our study adds to an increasing body of research that is looking at different aspects of how Covid-19 might be impacting the brain and brain function," said study first author Adam Hampshire from Imperial College London in the UK.

He added, “This research is all converging to indicate that there are some important effects of Covid-19 on the brain that need further investigation." 

As per the reports of News18, the team, in early 2020, including researchers from Kings College London and University of Cambridge in the UK, extended the questionnaires to gather information on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the symptoms experienced and the need to be hospitalised. Out of the 81,337 participants, 12,689 people suspected they had Covid-19. 

3,559 participants reported to experience respiratory symptoms. Around 200 were hospitalised and about a quarter of these needed mechanical ventilation.

The researchers also found that not all areas of thinking ability correlated in the same way with Covid-19 illness and that some abilities were spared, which included emotional discrimination and working memory. In comparison, “executive" tasks that required skills in reasoning and problem solving seemed to show the greatest deficit, they said. 

It has been noted by the researchers that it would be valuable to bring together brain imaging and cognitive tests with other information on mental health and everyday function. To really know what the long-term effects are for people will require people to be followed up over time, they added.