People who have had COVID-19 face an increased risk for neurological and psychiatric conditions, including psychosis, dementia, epilepsy, and “brain fog,” up to two years after infection, new research suggests.

In a new large-scale study, researchers from Oxford University found that COVID-19 patients suffered increased rates of a range of neurological and psychological issues compared to patients who had recovered from a respiratory infection.

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“To our knowledge, this is the first study with a comparator cohort that assesses the risks of a range of neurological and psychiatric outcomes of COVID-19 up to 2 years after the index SARS-CoV-2 infection,” researchers noted.

The risks of 14 different disorders were examined in over 1.25 million COVID-19 patients, ranging from children and seniors, compared to a similar population of 1.25 million people who had a respiratory infection during the same period through electronic health records. Most of the records studied were from the United States.

The study found 640 cases of brain fog, a condition associated with confusion or forgetfulness, per 10,000 people who were 64 years old and under and had COVID-19, compared to 550 cases per 10,000 people who had other respiratory infections.

Adults recovering from COVID-19 were also observed to be at an increased risk for anxiety and depression, though rates subsided to those comparable with other respiratory infections within two months.

Meanwhile, children were found to be twice as likely to develop epilepsy or seizures up to two years after a COVID-19 infection compared to those who had respiratory infections.

The study noted that it had several limitations and did not track how severe or long-lasting the disorders were.

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As the pandemic draws past two years from its onset, researchers have begun to compile more evidence on the long-term effects of COVID-19. Researchers with the National Institutes of Health highlighted the need for more studies focused on identifying and examining the underlying causes of long-lasting effects following a COVID-19 infection earlier this year.

Original Location: COVID-19 linked to higher risk of brain fog and dementia: Study

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