Coronavirus Tidbits #189 4/24/22

COVID-19 pneumonia increases dementia risk

A new study from the from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and MU Health Care shows patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia have a higher risk of developing dementia than those with other types of pneumonia.

A team of MU researchers pulled Cerner Real World Data from 1.4 billion medical encounters prior to July 31, 2021. They selected patients hospitalized with pneumonia for more than 24 hours. Among 10,403 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, 312 (3%) developed new onset dementia after recovering, compared to 263 (2.5%) of the 10,403 patients with other types of pneumonia diagnosed with dementia.

“The risk of new onset dementia was more common in COVID-19 pneumonia patients over the age of 70 in our study,” said lead researcher Adnan I. Qureshi, MD, a professor of clinical neurology at the MU School of Medicine. “The type of dementia seen in survivors of COVID-19 infection mainly affects memory, ability to perform everyday tasks and self-regulation. Language and awareness of time and location remained relatively preserved.”

The median time interval between infection and dementia diagnosis was 182 days for COVID-19 patients. The study only included new onset dementia associated with hospital admission during a short follow-up period. Qureshi said further study over longer periods of time would provide a more complete picture and may help to determine the underlying reasons why COVID-19 pneumonia might increase dementia risk.

http://outbreaknewstoday.com/covid-19-pneumonia-increases-dementia-risk-79242/

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Long-term lung abnormalities common 1 year after COVID-19 pneumonia

Long-term CT abnormalities were common up to 1 year after COVID-19 pneumonia in a study published in Radiology.

Researchers performed a secondary analysis of CovILD, a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study, conducted from April to August 2020. The study evaluated pulmonary abnormalities on chest CT at 2, 3 and 6 months and 1 year after COVID-19 symptoms in 142 adults who had mild to severe COVID-19. Researchers graded pulmonary CT findings for each lung lobe and assessed associations between demographic and clinical factors with CT abnormalities at 1 year. The study was conducted in Austria.

Overall, 91 participants from the CovILD study (mean age, 59 years; 38% women) had 1-year follow-up CT data and were included in the secondary analysis.

“More than half of the hospitalized participants still have permanent lung changes 1 year after COVID-19,” Schwabl told Healio.

Among the 54% of participants with CT abnormalities 1 year later, 34% had subtle subpleural reticulation, ground-glass opacities or both and 20% had extensive ground-glass opacities, reticulations, bronchial dilation and/or microcystic changes in the lung.

https://www.healio.com/news/pulmonology/20220415/longterm-ct-abnormalities-common-1-year-after-covid19-pneumonia

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Global data reveal half may have long COVID 4 months on

Worldwide, 49% of COVID-19 survivors reported persistent symptoms 4 months after diagnosis, estimates a meta-analysis of 31 studies published late last week in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

University of Michigan researchers, who conducted a systematic review on Jul 5, 2021, also found the prevalence of long COVID at 1 month at 37%, while it was 25% at 2 months and 32% at 3 months. Fifty studies were identified in the review, and 41 were included in a quantitative synthesis, and 31 reporting overall prevalence were meta-analyzed.

The 50 studies included a total of 1,680,003 COVID-19 patients, including those who were hospitalized (67,161 patients from 22 studies), nonhospitalized (4,165 from 5 studies), and any COVID-19 patients, regardless of hospitalization status (1,608,677 from 23 studies).

Impact on health, workforce 'enormous'

Estimated global prevalence of long COVID was 43% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39% to 46%), although estimates ranged from 9% to 81%, which the study authors said may be attributable to differences in sex, region, study population, and follow-up.

Long COVID prevalence among hospitalized patients was 54% (95% CI, 44% to 63%), while it was 34% (95% CI, 25% to 46%) for outpatients.

Regionally, estimated pooled prevalence of lingering COVID-19 symptoms was 51% (95% CI, 37% to 65%) in Asia, 44% (95% CI, 32% to 56%) in Europe, 31% (95% CI, 21% to 43%) in North America, and 31% (95% CI, 22% to 43%) in the United States.

Worldwide, estimated prevalence of long COVID was 37% (95% CI, 26% to 49%) 1 month after diagnosis, 25% (95% CI, 15% to 38%) at 2 months, 32% (95% CI, 14% to 57%) at 3 months, and 49% (95% CI, 40% to 59%) at 4 months. The most common symptoms were fatigue (23%), followed by memory problems (14%), shortness of breath (13%), sleep problems (11%), and joint pain (10%).

Overall, the meta-analysis showed that a higher percentage of women reported long COVID symptoms than men (49% vs 37%, respectively) and that preexisting asthma was a predisposing factor for lingering symptoms. Risk factors identified in the studies that weren't meta-analyzed included severe initial illness, older age, and underlying conditions such as obesity and hypothyroidism.

Findings from the study show that the prevalence of long COVID is substantial, the health effects of infection seem to be prolonged, and the condition could stress the healthcare system, the researchers said.

"We recommend continued attention be focused on identifying patients at-risk of developing post COVID-19 condition and on quantifying duration of symptoms. With an estimated 200 million individuals affected, post COVID-19 condition's impact on population health and the labor force is enormous," they concluded.

"It is imperative that those affected are provided proper health, social, and economic protections."

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/04/global-data-reveal-half-may-have-long-covid-4-months

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At CDC's urging, Justice Department appeals judge’s decision to drop mask mandate

The Justice Department has appealed a federal judge’s decision that struck down the mask mandate on public transportation, the Washington Post reports, after CDC recommended the move. “It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health,” the agency said late yesterday. “CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.” The ruling in question was made on Monday by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Florida, who concluded that the mandate exceeded CDC’s statutory authority. Her decision blindsided the Biden administration and set off changes mid-flight on some airlines. The Justice Department on Tuesday had said that it would wait for CDC’s recommendation on whether to proceed with an appeal, which could tee up a battle at the Supreme Court.

https://mailchi.mp/statnews/tk-tncyc6de8v-615464?e=5c09ee46b1

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Woman, 31, catches Covid twice within three weeks in Spain https://t.co/XYmH6J7RLi

— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) April 21, 2022