Effect of Preinfection Health Status on COVID-19 Severity and Cognitive Function.

Background: This observational cohort study investigates how infection health factors influence COVID-19 severity and cognitive outcomes. We collected preinfection data from hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including demographic information and baseline health conditions prior to diagnosis, and examined their associations with hospitalization duration and cognitive function assessed after infection.

Methods: Data were obtained from Hui Ya Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, China. The study included confirmed COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. Among the 147 collected cases, two were excluded due to missing data, leaving a final sample of 145 patients. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which evaluates global cognitive function with a total score of 0-30, was used to assess cognitive function, while hospitalization duration and routine clinical examinations were analyzed as indicators of disease severity. Additionally, the SF-12v2 score reflecting Health-Related Quality of Life was used to evaluate patients' overall health status. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify preinfection factors associated with COVID-19 outcomes.

Results: Preinfection baseline health status was significantly correlated with both hospitalization duration (p < 0.0001, 95% CI [-0.47, -0.16]) and MoCA scores (p = 0.0001, 95% CI [0.15, 0.46]). Patients with better preinfection health conditions experienced shorter hospital stays and demonstrated better cognitive function postinfection.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that preinfection baseline health conditions play a crucial role in determining both the severity of COVID-19 and postinfection cognitive function. Specifically, impairments were more pronounced in the visuospatial, naming, attention, calculation, language, and memory domains. Additionally, our results suggest a potential link between COVID-19 outcomes and patients' preexisting underlying diseases.