Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the participants in the exploration cohort

From: Distinct brain alterations and neurodegenerative processes in cognitive impairment associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19

 

NS-PASC (n = 77)

Other-PASC (n = 55)

Cog-PASC (n = 28)

P

Age, years

56.0 [45.0–63.0]

51.0 [41.0–60.0]

64.0 [52.5–68.0]

<0.001

Female

41 (53.2)

47 (85.5)

19 (67.9)

0.001

Education, years

16.0 [14.0–16.0]

16.0 [14.0–16.0]

12.0 [12.0–16.0]

0.007

Socio-economic status

    

Employment status

   

0.190

 Employed

51 (66.2)

35 (63.6)

12 (42.9)

 

 Unemployed

5 (6.5)

7 (12.7)

5 (17.9)

 

 Retired

21 (27.3)

12 (21.8)

11 (39.3)

 

 Student

0 (0.0)

1 (1.8)

0 (0.0)

 

Health insurance

   

0.054

 National health

77 (100.0)

52 (94.5)

28 (100.0)

 

 Medical aid

0 (0.0)

3 (5.5)

0 (0.0)

 

Residential area

   

0.829

 Urban

49 (63.6)

35 (63.6)

19 (67.9)

 

 Suburban

23 (29.9)

17 (30.9)

6 (21.4)

 

 Rural

5 (6.5)

3 (5.5)

3 (10.7)

 

Comorbidities

    

 Hypertension

16 (20.8)

14 (25.5)

10 (35.7)

0.293

 Hyperlipidemia

16 (20.8)

12 (21.8)

7 (25.0)

0.898

 Diabetes

8 (10.4)

6 (10.9)

5 (17.9)

0.557

 History of stroke or CHD

5 (6.5)

3 (5.5)

2 (7.1)

0.949

 Chronic kidney disease

0 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

–

 Chronic lung disease

1 (1.3)

1 (1.8)

0 (0.0)

0.779

 Inactive cancera

1 (1.3)

1 (1.8)

1 (3.6)

0.749

 Depression

0 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

0 (0.0)

–

COVID-19 infection times

   

0.532

 Once

69 (89.6)

45 (81.8)

25 (89.3)

 

 Twice

8 (10.4)

9 (16.4)

3 (10.7)

 

 Thrice

0 (0.0)

1 (1.8)

0 (0.0)

 

Variant of SARS-CoV-2

   

0.695

 Delta

2 (2.6)

3 (5.5)

1 (3.6)

 

 Omicron

75 (97.4)

52 (94.5)

27 (96.4)

 

Post-COVID-19 period, month

12.0 [7.0–13.0]

10.0 [6.0–13.0]

13.0 [8.5–14.0]

0.125

Post-COVID-19 brain imaging interval

13.0 [8.0–16.0]

11.0 [8.0–14.0]

14.0 [9.5–15.0]

0.121

Hospitalized for COVID-19

0 (0.0)

3 (5.5)

1 (3.6)

0.130

 ICU Hospitalization

0 (0.0)

1 (1.8)

0 (0.0)

0.383

Treatment for COVID-19b

1 (1.3)

3 (5.5)

1 (3.6)

0.396

Vaccination status

   

0.208

 Partially vaccinated

1 (1.3)

3 (5.5)

0 (0.0)

 

 Fully vaccinated

76 (98.7)

52 (94.5)

28 (100.0)

 

WHO Ordinal Scale

   

0.309

 Score 1

77 (100.0)

52 (94.5)

27 (96.4)

 

 Score 3

0 (0.0)

2 (3.7)

1 (3.6)

 

 Score 4

0 (0.0)

1 (1.8)

0 (0.0)

 

MoCA score

28.0 [27.0–29.0]

28.0 [27.0–29.0]

24.0 [22.0–25.0]

<0.001

FAS score

15.0 [11.0–18.0]

30.0 [24.0–37.0]

22.5 [13.8–30.0]

<0.001

PASC score

3.0 [3.0–10.0]

11.0 [11.0–14.0]

11.0 [3.5–12.0]

<0.001

  1. NS-PASC, no significant PASC group; Other-PASC, the group with multifaceted long-COVID symptoms other than cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] ≥26 [a score ≥26 was considered normal]) Fatigue Assessment Scale [FAS] ≥22 [a score >22 indicated higher fatigue], and/or PASC score [symptom scores selected to define PASC] ≥12 [the threshold for the PASC score was ≥12]; Cog-PASC: group with cognitive impairment (MoCA <26 [a score ≤25 was considered mild cognitive impairment]). PASC, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19; WHO Ordinal Scale, The World Health Organization (WHO) ordinal clinical severity scale at hospital admission (the scale ranges from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity); Data are presented as n (%) for categorical variables and as median with interquartile range (IQR; 25th–75th percentiles) for continuous variables. Group differences were assessed using the two-sided Pearson’s chi-squared tests (categorical) and Kruskal–Wallis test (continuous), with Dunn’s post hoc pairwise comparisons and Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing where applicable. Exact p-values are provided in the Source Data file.
  2. aCured or inactive cancer status.
  3. bTreatment for COVID-19 included Paxlovid (n = 1), Remdesivir (n = 1), Regkirona (n = 1), both Remdesivir and Regkirona (n = 1), and unknown treatment (n = 1).
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