Mounting scientific evidence reveals that being infected with SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID — profoundly impacts brain health in many ways.
"COVID-19 poses a serious risk to brain health, even in mild cases, and the effects are now being revealed at the population level," clinical epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Aly saidErin Clack is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE. She has been writing about fashion, parenting and pop culture for more than 15 years.Mounting scientific evidence suggests that being infected with SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID — profoundly impacts brain health in many ways.
Colorado Teen Has Had Long Covid for 4 Years, Celebrated Prom in Hospital: 'The Virus Just Began to Take Over' showed that people who had COVID were at an increased risk of cognitive deficits including memory problems. A study of people with a mild to moderate form of the virus showed significant, prolonged inflammation of the brain and changes that"are commensurate with seven years of brain aging."after infection.
According to Al-Aly, that same study found that "those who had mild and resolved COVID-19 showed cognitive decline equivalent to a three-point loss of IQ." Those with unresolved persistent symptoms — such as fatigue and shortness of breath — had a six-point loss in IQ, while people who had been admitted to the intensive care unit for COVID had a nine-point decrease.
"Taken together, these studies show that COVID-19 poses a serious risk to brain health, even in mild cases, and the effects are now being revealed at the population level," Al-Aly wrote in his essay.
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