(258) Cognitive and Other Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in COVID-19: Analysis of Person-Generated Health Data from a Community-Based Registry

Sunday, August 28, 2022

8:00 AM – 1:45 PM CEST

Location: Hall C

Publication Number: 1303

Presenting Author(s)

Joan Largent, PhD
– Senior Director, Epidemiology and Outcomes Research, IQVIA , Mission Viejo, California, United States

Co-Author(s)

Yiqiong Xie
– Milpitas, California, United States
Matthew W. Reynolds, PhD, FISPE
– Vice President, Real World Evidence, IQVIA , Grasonville, Maryland, United States
Kendall B. Knuth
– IQVIA , Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Emma Brinkley
– IQVIA, Durham, NC, United States
Christina Mack, FISPE
– IQVIA , UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Stephen Toovey
– Pegasus Research, Switzerland
Nancy A. Dreyer, PhD, MPH, FISPE, Fellow DIA
– Chief Scientific Officer, Dreyer Strategies LLC, Newton, Massachusetts, United States

Background: A meaningful proportion of COVID-19 patients report cognitive symptoms. Prior research has reported associations between upper respiratory tract illness severity and cognition; little is known however about associations between cognitive symptom severity and other COVID-19 symptoms, e.g., loss of taste and smell.

Objectives: To describe the association between occurrence and severity of COVID-19 reported cognitive symptoms and loss of sense of taste and/or smell in participants reporting a positive COVID-19 test result in a direct-to-participant registry.

Methods: Registry data from the COVID-19 Active Registry Experience (CARE) were analyzed for participants who reported having tested for COVID-19 from December 15, 2020 to December 13, 2021. Community-based social media recruitment targeted adult U.S. residents (non-hospitalized at enrollment). Enrollment and follow-up surveys collected information on participants’ demographics, medical history, COVID-19-like symptoms and severity, COVID-19 tests and vaccination, and use of medications and supplements. Cognitive symptoms were characterized as “feeling disoriented or having trouble thinking” or reports of related symptoms. Associations between cognitive and other neuropsychiatric symptoms were examined.

Results: Of 13,501 CARE participants, 3,908 reported positive and 2,537 negative COVID-19 test results. Cognitive symptoms were reported among 1,014 (26%) and 142 (6%) participants testing positive and negative, respectively. Among the COVID positive participants, 1,726 (44%) reported a change in taste and 1,864 (48%) reported change in smell. Of 2,894 COVID-positive participants who reported no cognitive symptoms, 26.4% reported moderate or severe changes in taste and 31.7% reported moderate or severe changes in smell. Of 527 COVID-positive participants that reported moderate or severe cognitive symptoms, 54.8% and 59.6% reported severe changes in taste and smell, respectively (p < 0.001). Cognitive symptom severity was also positively associated with severity of other neuropsychiatric symptoms including headache, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and difficulty waking.

Conclusions: A clear and significant positive correlation between severity of cognitive symptoms and occurrence and severity of changes in taste and smell as well as other neuropsychiatric symptoms was observed. These findings may contribute to potential elucidation of pathways involved in cognitive symptom development among non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and possible therapeutic avenues for exploration.