Association of Anxiety and Depression with Objective and Subjective Cognitive Decline in Outpatient Healthcare Consumers with COVID-19: А Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Consortium psychiatricum (English ed. Online) 2022, Vol.3 (3), p.45-57
• Main Authors: Gomzyakova, Natalia, Palchikova, Ekaterina, Tumova, Marianna, Kasyanov, Evgeny, Sorokin, Mikhail
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anxiety; covid-19; depression; subjective cognitive decline
• ISSN: 2712-7672; 2713-2919; 2713-2919
• DOI: 10.17816/CP189

In addition to the neurological complications affecting people infected with COVID-19, cognitive impairment symptoms and symptoms of anxiety and depression remain a frequent cause of complaints. The specificity of cognitive impairment in patients with COVID-19 is still poorly understood. An exploratory study of factors that may be associated with cognitive decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-sectional multicentre observational study was conducted in a polyclinic unit in Saint Petersburg and in the regions of the North-Western Federal Region. During the study, socio-demographic parameters and information about the somatic condition of patients who applied for primary health care was collected. Emotional and cognitive state were investigated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Mathematical and statistical data processing was carried out using SPSS and RStudio statistical programs. The study included 515 participants, 60% ( =310) of which were women. The sample was divided into those who did (28.5%, =147) and did not (71.4%, =368) complain of cognitive decline. Patients with complaints of cognitive decline were significantly older, had lower levels of education and higher levels of depression and anxiety according to HADS ( 0.05). Patients with mild severity of the COVID-19 course were more successful with MoCA subtests than patients with moderate and severe courses. We found no linear association between objective cognitive deficit and the affective state of respondents. Patients' subjective complaints about cognitive dysfunction were mostly caused by their emotional state than an objective decrease of their cognitive functions. Therefore, in case of subjective complaints on cognitive decline, it is necessary to assess not only the cognitive but also the affective state of the patient. The severity of the COVID-19 course affects the functions of the cognitive sphere, including attention, regulatory functions and speech fluency. Mild and moderate severity of the C