Covid-19 can age your brain by 20 years, finds new study

Are you taking coronavirus infection lightly? A new study reveals that Covid-19 may cause irreparable damage to the brain.
Covid-19
Covid-19 infection may lower your IQ, Image Courtesy: Shutterstock
Published by Shifa Khan
Updated On: 4 May 2022, 04:58 pm IST
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If you think Covid-19 can only affect your respiratory health, you are mistaken, my friend! A brush with the deadly coronavirus may even leave you a little less intelligent, but permanently! We are not saying this, but a study conducted on 46 British nationals hospitalized with Covid-19 in 2020, indicates this.

These coronavirus infected people were admitted to the hospital with the initial symptom of brain fog that can last longer than six months. The study, led by a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, found out that they scored relatively low in their brain tests compared to the scores from 66,000 healthy and uninfected participants.

Anesthetist and brain expert Professor David Menon, who was involved with the study, says, ‘We followed some patients up as late as ten months after their acute infection, so we were able to see a very slow improvement. This is at least heading in the right direction, but it is very possible that some of these individuals will never fully recover. Catching Covid-19 can age your brain by 20 years,” he added.

This study definitely raises concerns about our brain health post Covid-19 infection and the impact of the coronavirus infection on cognitive health. The irreversible damage it does to the neurons is bound to make a person go slow-witted.

trust your gut
Covid-19 may impact your brain health permanently. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Not only this, the swelling caused by the body’s immune reaction to the virus could also wreak havoc on nerve cells. Due to the ill-effects of Covid-19, one is susceptible to losing 10 points on an IQ test, according to professor Menon.

Earlier, Dr (Lt Gen) CS Narayanan is a renowned neurologist from Manipal Hospital, spoke to Health Shots about the impact of Covid-19 on the brain.

Dr Narayanan says, “People can experience brain problems after recovering from Covid-19 due to several reasons. Although there is no clarity about who is most likely to develop brain conditions, the available data shows that the Covid-19 virus is strong enough to invade the brain cells, harming the brain, heart, kidney, and other organs.”

covid-19
Yup, the ill effects of covid-19 can also reach the brain. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Amid the danger of XE variant, the previous findings about the Omicron variant of Covid-19 from the New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine tell the tale of ill effects of it. The finding indicated traces of neurological damage on the brain especially, among the older population who survived from Covid-19. Even the data gathered by UK Biobank suggested the link between Covid-19 and brain functioning. It says that the survivors may suffer from a loss of grey matter and other brain tissue over time.

Thereby, don’t fall back on wearing masks and following the usual Covid-19 guidelines if you don’t wish to end up dull, ladies!

(With inputs from PTI)

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About the Author

An aesthete and a skincare junkie, Shifa spends most of her time cooking delish food while wearing a sheet mask. At HealthShots, she creates high-octane content that can leave you all a little intrigued! ...Read More

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