Functional and cognitive outcomes three years after COVID-19

There is paucity of data on long-term functional and cognitive outcomes after COVID-19 compared to COVID-negative controls.

We conducted an observational cohort study of patients ≥ 1 year after COVID-19 compared to contemporaneous COVID-19 negative controls (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG negative with no history of COVID-19). Functional (modified Rankin Scale [mRS], Barthel Index), cognitive (telephone MoCA [t-MoCA]), and patient-reported neuropsychiatric symptoms were compared between groups using multivariable logistic regression analysis. In a subgroup of COVID-19 patients who were followed longitudinally, trajectories of recovery were assessed using the paired samples Sign test.

Of 145 participants, N = 115 COVID-19 patients (median age 62, 51 % female, 33 % hospitalized for COVID-19, median 2.9 years from index infection), and N = 30 non-COVID-19 controls (median age 75, 70 % female) were enrolled. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were reported in 76 % of COVID-19 patients versus 7 % of controls (aOR 15.0, 95 %CI 3.09-72.47, P < 0.001). Abnormal mRS> 0 occurred in 42 % of COVID-19 patients compared to 11 % of controls (P = 0.002). However, this difference was not significant after adjusting for age, sex, COVID-19 hospitalization and history of mood disorder (aOR 2.10, 95 %CI 0.52-8.51). Rates of abnormal t-MoCA≤ 18 (40 % of COVID-19 versus 41 % of controls, P = 1.00) and Barthel scores< 100 (19 % of COVID-19 versus 14 % in controls, P = 0.785) were similar. Among N = 26 COVID-19 patients with repeated measures, mRS significantly improved between 6-months to 3-years post-COVID (+1.3 points, p = 0.004), while no changes were observed in t-MoCA or Barthel.

Three years after COVID-19, neuropsychiatric symptoms were significantly more frequent compared to controls, however no differences in functional or cognitive status were detected.