Long-lasting cognitive and olfactory deficits following mild COVID-19 – modifying factors, brain correlates, and prognostic impact for well-being and daily functioning

Long-lasting post-COVID symptoms may have severe implications for affected individuals and the healthcare system. This project focuses on two common symptoms in this patient group, cognitive and olfactory deficits.

We aim to increase the knowledge regarding (a) nature, severity, and duration of long-term effects on cognitive and olfactory function after mild COVID, (b) which individuals are more likely to be affected by and recover from such deficits, (c) underlying mechanisms, and (d) associations between these deficits and returning to previous levels of functioning.

Longitudinal follow-up of these patients is vital to understand the long-term effects.

It is further unknown how many individuals are affected by subclinical cognitive impairments following a COVID-19 infection.

The project consists of 3 parts: (1) Longitudinal follow-up of a clinical sample (Danderyd rehabilitation medicine clinic) of post-COVID patients with repeated cognitive, olfactory, and functional assessments, (2) Magnetic resonance imaging assessments of a subgroup of this sample and a matched control group, (3) Repeated cognitive testing of a population sample comparing cognitive trajectories of persons with and without previous COVID-19.

These data collections will provide important new knowledge regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on cognitive and olfactory performance, which factors may affect the longitudinal development in these domains, and how they relate to functioning in other areas.