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=13 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 the acute phase of COVID-19 disease. Moreover, the role of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes in cognitive decline in patients with COVID-19 has not been evaluated yet.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms that persisted for more than 3 months from the onset. We determined APOE genotypes.

Results

The final sample consisted of 141 patients. The most frequent APOE genotype was E3/E3 (N = 95; 67.3%). In total, 93 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 than the normal and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) groups (p = 0.005). In addition, depression was recurrent in the cognitive impairment group and the SCD group (p = 0.046). Cognitive impairment was significantly more frequent in hospitalized patients and those with a lower education level. Cognitive status was not associated with APOE genotypes.

Discussion

Hospitalized patients had more severe infection with a greater possibility of systemic complications, greater inflammatory response, and prolonged hospitalization, which could impact cognitive performance. Cognitive impairment in patients with COVID-19 does not necessarily involve specific APOE polymorphisms. However, psychiatric disorders may also be responsible for cognitive complaints. Cognitive complaints are frequent in patients with COVID-19, even after the acute phase of the disease and in mild cases. Hospitalized participants and depressed patients may have a higher risk of cognitive impairment. APOE genotypes or haplotypes may not significantly play a role in COVID-19 cognitive impairment.