Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42499345›Full record

ArticleNeuroprotection (Chichester, England)2026

Post-Omicron cognitive decline is largely reversible: Two-year multicenter cohort study of domain-specific outcomes in hospitalized patients.

Min Qiu, Mengwen Wang, Shengcai Chen, Wenbo Zuo, Jiashuo Lin, Luojinyun Wang, Senwei Tan, Quanwei He, Yanan Li, Huijuan Jin and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuroprotection (Chichester, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Min QiuDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Mengwen WangDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Shengcai ChenDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Wenbo ZuoDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Jiashuo LinDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Luojinyun WangDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Senwei TanDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Quanwei HeDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Yanan LiDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Huijuan JinDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Xuan NiuDepartment of Neurology Hubei General Hospital Wuhan Hubei China.
Wanli LiDepartment of Neurology Wuhan Puren Hospital Wuhan Hubei China.
Fengguang LiDepartment of Neurology Wuhan Puren Hospital Wuhan Hubei China.
Ming HuangDepartment of Neurology Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Wuhan Hubei China.
Yan WanDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.
Bo HuDepartment of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan Hubei China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1462-8854

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cognitive impairment represents a significant concern within the spectrum of post-acute sequelae of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, particularly impacting the aging population. This study aimed to assess the incidence of reversible and irreversible cognitive decline after Omicron infection, identify changes in specific cognitive domains, and determine the risk factors for progressive cognitive decline. Methods: In this multicenter longitudinal cohort, 3419 patients diagnosed with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) between December 2022 and March 2023 from nine hospitals in China were enrolled. Cognitive function was assessed at 6 months and 2 years post-infection using the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status-40 (TICS-40). Domain-specific performance was analyzed, and logistic regression was used to identify risk factors. Results: In total, 2087 patients with COVID-19 completed both the 6-month and 2-year follow-up (1172 [56.2%] men; 915 [43.8%] women; median age 63.0 years [interquartile range]: 53.0-71.0) respectively. Two years after discharge from the hospital, 67.1% (1401/2087) of survivors maintained stable cognitive function, 22.0% (460/2087) of survivors experienced reversible cognitive decline, and 10.8% (226/2087) experienced irreversible cognitive decline (3.6% [76/2087] showed progressive cognitive decline). The profile of recovery or deterioration in cognitive domains involved attention/calculation, executive function, delayed recall, registration, and learning, all of which are multi-dimensional. Age ≥60 years (OR = 4.31, 95% CI [1.47, 12.65]), reinfection (OR = 2.12, 95% CI [1.33, 3.38]), and vaccination doses (OR = 0.69, 95% CI [0.55, 0.87]) were associated with progressive decline. Conclusion: Post-Omicron cognitive decline is largely reversible, with significant recovery observed in key domains including attention/calculation, executive function, delayed recall, registration, and learning. However, a vulnerable subset with risk factors such as older adults, reinfection, and inadequate vaccination, is at risk for progressive cognitive decline. These findings highlight the necessity of targeted long-term monitoring and early intervention for high-risk populations.

Indexed as

cognitive domainsCOVID‐19hospitalizationOmicronreversible

Identifiers

PMID42499345
PMCPMC13399597

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.