Attention Deficits and Psychological Disturbances among COVID-19 Survivors in the Egyptian Population

El Shaikh, Ansam; Elshaikh, Yosra; Alsheikh, Eman

doi:10.21608/tjhss.2023.239433.1211

Attention Deficits and Psychological Disturbances among COVID-19 Survivors in the Egyptian Population

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Banha University, Egypt The british university in Egypt.Egypt.

² Helwan University, Egypt Badr University in Cairo, Egypt

³ Tanta University, Egypt The British university in Egypt, Egypt.

10.21608/tjhss.2023.239433.1211

Abstract

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected populations the world over. It poses a serious threat to life and impacts survivors' physical and mental health. While a significant amount of research has been conducted worldwide on the cognitive impact of COVID-19, most studies focus on older adults, and don’t look at specific cognitive domains. We focused on attention performance amongst COVID-19 middle-aged survivors. We expected that individuals with a COVID-19 history would show attention deficits that couldn’t be attributed to mood disturbance.

28 participants with a history (3-12 months prior to the study) of severe COVID-19 (CoV-S) were compared against 30 participants with a history of mild to moderate COVID-19 (CoV-M) and 27 healthy individuals with no COVID-19 history (CoV-Free). A Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) were completed.

Results. SART Analyses showed (CoV-S) participants were significantly less accurate during NoGo trials and generally slower compared to the other groups (CoV-Free) and (CoV-M). While the CoV-S group showed higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to other groups, no significant associations were found with attention performance. However, it was found that increased anxiety levels were associated with longer reaction times.

Conclusion. According to the current research, severe COVID-19 can lead to long-lasting effects on a person's attention. Specifically, survivors may experience reduced cognitive inhibition that is not caused by COVID-related psychological distress. On the other hand, they may also experience a general sluggishness that could be attributed to increased anxiety levels.

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