The association between objective cognitive measures and ecological-functional outcomes in COVID-19

• Published in: Frontiers in psychology 2022-11, Vol.13, p.903697-903697
• Main Authors: Ottonello, Marcella, Fiabane, Elena, Aiello, Edoardo Nicolò, Manera, Marina Rita, Spada, Francesca, Pistarini, Caterina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cognitive screening; COVID-19; ecological validity; functional independence measures; neuropsychology; Psychology; SARS-CoV-2
• ISSN: 1664-1078; 1664-1078
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.903697

BackgroundCognitive dysfunctions, both subjective and detectable at psychometric testing, may follow SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the ecological-functional relevance of such objective deficits is currently under-investigated. This study thus aimed at investigating the association between objective cognitive measures and both physical and cognitive, ecological-functional outcomes in post-COVID-19. MethodsForty-two COVID-19-recovered individuals were administered the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was adopted to assess functional-ecological, motor/physical (FIM-Motor) and cognitive (FIM-Cognitive) outcomes at admission (T0) and discharge (T1). ResultsWhen predicting both T0/T1 FIM-total and-Motor scores based on MMSE/MoCA scores, premorbid risk for cognitive decline (RCD) and disease-related features, no model yielded a significant fit. However, the MoCA - but not the MMSE significantly predicted T0/T1 FIM-Cognitive scores. The MoCA was significantly related only to T0/T1 FIM-Cognitive Memory items. DiscussionCognitive measures are not associated with physical/motor everyday-life outcomes in post-COVID-19 patients. The MoCA may provide an ecological estimate of cognitive functioning in this population.