People frequently reported experiencing fatigue and headaches after four months of contracting a COVID-19 infection. According to researchers, although no study participant reported having had a stroke, coordination issues, muscle weakness, or an inability to regulate speaking muscles, these were some of the less frequently reported symptoms. The findings of the study published in the journal Science Direct confirm that there are chronic neuropsychiatric effects caused by COVID-19 infection.

The 200 patients in the first visit of the CONGA, or COVID-19 Neurological and Molecular Prospective Cohort Study in Georgia, were recruited on average about 125 days after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. According to objective measurements in the study, a higher percentage of people who did not report the changes showed signs of reduced function. 80% of the participants out of 200 individuals reported neurological symptoms, with fatigue taking the lead by 80.5%, followed by a headache at 68.5%. A little more than half of the participants (54.5%) and tasters (54%) reported changes, and 47% of them met the standards for mild cognitive impairment, with 30% showing poor vocabulary and 32% having impaired working memory.

For psychiatric outcomes, 25% of the participants fit the criteria for depression, and those who did were more likely to have diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, and a history of depression. The 18% who fulfilled the objective criteria for anxiety had anemia and a history of depression. According to the researchers, cognitive testing may exaggerate disability in underprivileged populations. For instance, blood tests performed at the initial consultation and again at the follow-up visit revealed that some peoples inflammatory markers were high and stayed up.

Based on the outcomes of the study, it was found that some symptoms like weariness were exacerbated by prolonged inflammation even when the virus-specific antibodies were waning. The researchers noted that since COVID-19 began, there has been growing evidence that infection can have an immediate neurological effect that includes loss of taste and smell, brain infections, headaches, and, less frequently, seizures, strokes, and nerve damage or death. 

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/fatigue-headache-most-common-lasting-symptoms-months-after-covid-19-study-101659945006870.html )