Over 80% of COVID patients have neurological issues

The majority of COVID patients are likely to develop neurological complications varying from insomnia and dizziness to stroke, reports a recent study. 

Findings published by the Jama Network, Neurology indicate that neurological and/or psychiatric complications are common among COVID patients. Research conducted by the network on a representative sample of patients from across the globe shows that irrespective of whether patients had pre-existing neurological complications or other health issues, those affected by COVID were highly likely to develop various neurological complications.

In a study conducted over eight months (from March 2020 to October 2020), it was found that nearly 82% of COVID patients across various age groups and countries suffered some form of neurological complications.

Neurological complications are more common in women

More than 8 out of 10 women affected by COVID  are likely to have neurological complications. The incidence was comparatively lower among men.

It is estimated that 84% of women and 77% of men diagnosed with COVID are likely to suffer from neurological complications.

Some of the symptoms could be self-reported, but the majority of them can only be detected after proper clinical verification. Commonly reported symptoms included headache, loss of smell, and loss of taste.

Neurological complications were more commonly reported among younger age groups

The incidence of self-reported neurological complications decreased with age. 49% of COVID patients below the age of 40 years self-reported complications. This number reduced to 23% among those above the age of 80 years.

The nature of complications also varied by age group with older patients more likely to report fainting as compared to younger age groups.

Acute encephalopathy most dominant complication

Among clinically verified neurological syndromes, Acute encephalopathy was the main cause for neurological complications among COVID-positive participants.

Although women were more prone to neurological complications, overall,  acute encephalopathy affected men more than women.  More than 5 out of every 10 COVID-19-men were likely to develop acute encephalopathy.

The disease was also more common among those aged above 80 years. Nearly 8 out of 10 COVID- 80 years were diagnosed with Acute encephalopathy.

Overall, 55% of COVID-positive participants had at least one neurological syndrome upon clinical evaluation. While acute encephalopathy was the most common neurological syndrome with an incidence of 50% across the 3 separate cohorts, meningitis and/or encephalitis and myelopathy were the least common, with incidences of 0.1%and 0.2%, respectively.

Why are neurological complications common among COVID patients?

As per the research published by the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, neurological complications occur in COVID patients mostly because of the body’s widespread immune response to infection. The presence of antibodies—proteins made by the immune system to fight the virus—may also react with the nervous system, thereby causing neurological complications in patients.

“Often we have found that patients who got admitted to the hospital with neurological complications like stroke have been tested COVID-positive. Moreover, often COVID patients get bleeding in their brains, which we call intracranial hematoma. Many young patients got strokes. In many cases, we have found in our hospital that the patients have suffered encephalitis. Patients may even get difficulties speaking, some face memory loss,” mentioned Dr. Anil Dhar, practicing neurosurgeon, Maxx Hospital, Delhi.

Other research studies have concluded that these neurological complications could be a result of hypoxia or low oxygen levels that COVID-positive patients experience. The oxygen levels affect white matter in the brain which transfers information from one brain region to another, thereby causing neurological complications.