COVID2023CognitionData.csv

Data for the article: <strong>The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Severity of COVID-19, and COVID-19 Vaccination on Health and Cognitive Performance</strong> <br> Jaroslav Flegr* and Ashkan Latifi <strong>Abstract</strong> COVID-19 affects a variety of organs and systems of the body including the central nervous system. Recent research has shown that COVID-19 survivors often experience neurological and psychological complications that can last for months after infection. We conducted a large internet study using online tests to analyze the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 severity, and vaccination on health, intelligence, memory, and information processing precision and speed in a cohort of 4,446 subjects. Our study found that both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity were significantly associated with negative impacts on patients' health. Furthermore, we observed a negative association between COVID-19 severity and cognitive performance. Age was negatively associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in our sample so that the younger the participant the more likely that they had a history of COVID-19 contraction and positively associated with COVID-19 severity and vaccination so that the elderly were more likely to develop the acute form of the disease and get vaccinated. The association between age and COVID-19 severity was primarily mediated by older participants' impaired long-term health. Vaccination was positively associated with intelligence and the precision of information processing. However, the positive association between vaccination and intelligence was likely mediated by achieved education, which was itself strongly associated with the likelihood of being vaccinated. Notably, we observed a negative correlation between patients' cognitive performance and COVID-19 severity but not with SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting that the severity of the disease was the main factor involved in cognitive impairment. Practical implications for safeguarding public health against COVID-19 pandemic are also made at the end of the article.