Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: VANESSA GIFFONI DE MEDEIROS NUNES PINHEIRO PEIXOTO

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : VANESSA GIFFONI DE MEDEIROS NUNES PINHEIRO PEIXOTO
DATE: 28/02/2023
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Online - Link Meet
TITLE:

IMPACT OF SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS INFECTION ON ELDERLY COGNITION

KEY WORDS:

SARS-COV-2, COVID-19, ELDERS, ELDERLY, COGNITION, COGNITIVE DECLINE

PAGES: 101
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUBÁREA: Psicologia Cognitiva
SUMMARY:

Nearly 40% of victims of COVID-19 and up to 90% of patients with a severe infection will develop persistent symptoms known as post-COVID condition, which usually includes cognitive complaints. Post-COVID cognitive sequelae, as declines in attention, executive functions and mental processing speed, have been described. However, they are scarce and have targeted younger age groups. It is well known that older individuals are the most vulnerable to cognitive decline; considering the neurovirulence of SARS-CoV-2 and the global reach of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to understand the spectrum of the COVID-19 cognitive damage. METHODOLOGY: Quantitative, observational, prospective cohort study, carried out amid 2021 and 2023 with elderly people between 60 and 80 years old, without previous cognitive decline, residing in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state. Participants were divided into two cohorts, in which 70 volunteers were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccination (COVID group, confirmed by RT-PCR) and 153 volunteers for pairing in the CONTROL group (IgG (-) serology). Exclusion criteria were: education ≦ 4 years, previous diagnosis of cognitive decline, decompensated psychiatric illnesses and history of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular major events in 2020. Participants underwent 03 serial assessments comprising cognitive functions, functional capacity, mood and quality of sleep, with an average interval of 6 months between them. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 66.97±4.64, with 70% of the sample being female. Subjective cognitive complaints were more prevalent in the COVID group (p=0.029), along as the number of individuals with MoCA-B impairment (p=0.014). Some factors increased the chance of having MoCA-B altered, such as previous COVID-19 infection, age above 70 years old, male gender, schooling lower than 12 years, monthly income below R$ 10,000, overweight, and use of psychotropic drugs. Approximately half of the participants had poor sleep quality measured by the PSQI, but there was no statistical difference between groups (p=0.208). Women, individuals with memory complaints, anxiety, depression, joint diseases and pre-diabetes, as well as taking psychotropic drugs, diuretics and polypharmacy influenced a greater chance of a poor quality of sleep. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 seems to cause cognitive impairment in the elderly, which needs deeper understanding. Psychiatric conditions mostly influenced scores concerning quality of sleep.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - DALVA LUCIA ROLLEMBERG POYARES - UNIFESP
Externo à Instituição - NORBERTO ANIZIO FERREIRA FROTA - UNIFOR
Presidente - 1665448 - KATIE MORAES DE ALMONDES