ArticleEuropean journal of neurology2021
Cognitive decline among individuals with history of mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: A longitudinal prospective study nested to a population cohort.
Article in European journal of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 181 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis of Cognitive Function Following Non-severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Neuropsychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Neurocognitive Impairment in Long COVID: A Systematic Review.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2025Pooled it
- Parallel electrophysiological abnormalities due to COVID-19 infection and to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Pooled it
- Neuropsychological deficits in patients with persistent COVID-19 symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- ESCMID rapid guidelines for assessment and management of long COVID.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022Guideline
- COVID-19 associated cognitive impairment: A systematic review.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- The Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Cognitive Function and the Implication for Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Changes in cognitive functioning after COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2022Pooled it
- [Guideline S1: Long COVID: Diagnostics and treatment strategies].Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2021Guideline
- Increased incidence of mild cognitive impairment in long COVID patients.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Observational
- Viral infection states, immune control, and adult cognition: evidence across latency, persistence, and post-acute responses.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Article
- Resting-state functional connectivity alterations after mild COVID-19 infection.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Cognitive impairment 2 years after mild to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population-based study with matched-comparison groups.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Molecular Mechanisms of Cognitive Dysfunction in Long COVID: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Neurocognitive Impairment After COVID-19: Mechanisms, Phenotypes, and Links to Alzheimer's Disease.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Cognitive Slowing, Dysfunction in Verbal Working Memory, Divided Attention and Response Inhibition in Post COVID-19 Condition in Young Adults.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- COVID-19 and cognitive impairment: a review of the emerging evidence.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Exposures and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged Women.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Electroencephalographic Biomarkers for Neuropsychiatric Diseases: The State of the Art.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
background and purposeNeurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection are noticed among critically ill patients soon after disease onset. Information on delayed neurological sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection is nil. Following a longitudinal study design, the occurrence of cognitive decline among individuals with a history of mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was assessed.
methodsStroke- and seizure-free Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years, who had pre-pandemic cognitive assessments as well as normal brain magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalogram recordings, underwent repeated evaluations 6 months after a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak infection in Atahualpa. Patients requiring oxygen therapy, hospitalization, and those who had initial neurological manifestations were excluded. Cognitive decline was defined as a reduction in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score between the post-pandemic and pre-pandemic assessments that was ≥4 points greater than the reduction observed between two pre-pandemic MoCAs. The relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and cognitive decline was assessed by fitting logistic mixed models for longitudinal data as well as exposure-effect models.
resultsOf 93 included individuals (mean age 62.6 ± 11 years), 52 (56%) had a history of mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Post-pandemic MoCA decay was worse in seropositive individuals. Cognitive decline was recognized in 11/52 (21%) seropositive and 1/41 (2%) seronegative individuals. In multivariate analyses, the odds for developing cognitive decline were 18.1 times higher among SARS-CoV-2 seropositive individuals (95% confidence interval 1.75-188; p = 0.015). Exposure-effect models confirmed this association (β = 0.24; 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.41; p = 0.006).
conclusionsThis study provides evidence of cognitive decline among individuals with mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. The pathogenesis of this complication remains unknown.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.