Cognitive Difficulties, Psychological Symptoms, and Long Lasting Somatic Complaints in Adolescents with Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Telehealth Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Abstract

Background. Few studies have evaluated cognitive functioning and mental health in children and adolescents who contracted the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We investigated the prevalence and association of neuropsychological difficulties, psychological symptoms, and self-reported long-COVID complaints in a sample of adolescents. Methods. Thirty-one adolescents infected by COVID-19 within 3–6 months prior to the assessment were included. Neuropsychological difficulties, psychological symptoms, and self-reported long-COVID complaints were evaluated using a checklist and a battery of multiple standardized measures, using a telehealth procedure. Symptoms during the infection were also detected. Results. We included 31 adolescents (23 girls, 8 boys; mean age 14.1, SD = 2). We found borderline scores in 32.3% and 45.2% of our sample for phonemic and category fluency, respectively. A high percentage of participants showed symptoms of depression (80.6%) and anxiety (61.3%). Fifty-eight percent reported at least one long-COVID symptom. The most common symptoms were headache and attention problems (58%). Subjects presenting numbness/weakness, fatigue, brain fog, or attention problems had higher scores in depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion. This is a pilot study limited by the lack of control group. However, we found that cognitive, psychological, and physical symptoms were very common among adolescents recovered from COVID-19.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• adolescents
• anxiety
• depression
• cognitive functioning
• memory