AUTHOR=Tavares-Júnior José Wagner Leonel , Oliveira Danilo Nunes , da Silva Jean Breno Silveira , Feitosa Werbety Lucas Queiroz , Sousa Artur Victor Menezes , Cunha Letícia Chaves Vieira , Gaspar Safira de Brito , Gomes Carmem Meyve Pereira , de Oliveira Laís Lacerda Brasil , Moreira-Nunes Caroline Aquino , Montenegro Raquel Carvalho , Sobreira-Neto Manoel Alves , Braga-Neto Pedro 

TITLE=Long-covid cognitive impairment: Cognitive assessment and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping correlation in a Brazilian cohort

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.947583

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.947583

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Few studies have objectively evaluated cognitive deficits after acute phase of disease of COVID-19. Moreover, the role of APOE genotypes on cognitive decline on patients with COVID-19 has not been evaluated yet.  Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with confirmed COVID-19 patients with a neurological symptom that persisted for more than three months from onset. APOE genotypes were determined. Results: The final sample consisted of 141 patients. The most frequent APOE genotype was E3/E3 (N = 95; 67.3%). Ninety-three patients (65.9%) had memory impairment symptoms as the main complaint, objectively confirmed through screening tests in 25 patients (17.7%). Patients with cognitive impairment had a lower frequency of anosmia in comparison with Normal and subjective cognitive deficits (SCD) groups (p=0.005). Depression was also more frequent in CI group and SCD (p=0.046). Cognitive impairment was significantly more frequent in hospitalized patients and those with lower level of scholarity. Cognitive status had no association with APOE genotype.  Discussion: Hospitalized patients present a more severe infection with greater possibility of systemic complications, greater inflammatory response and prolonged hospitalization which could impact cognitive performance. Cognitive impairment in COVID-19 patients do not necessarily involve specific APOE polymorphisms. However, psychiatric disorders may also be responsible for cognitive complaints.
Conclusion:  Cognitive complaints are frequent in COVID-19 patients, even after disease acute phase and in mild cases. Hospitalized participants and depressive patients may have a higher risk of cognitive impairment. APOE genotype or haplotypes may not significantly play a role on COVID-19 cognitive impairment.