Cognitive decline refers to the reduction of cognitive abilities, such as perceptual and processing speed, calculation, working memory, and the storage and retrieval of new information. A gradual cognitive decline is a normal part of aging, while a sudden decline is usually a sign of pathological processes, such as dementia. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific literature has reported a connection between COVID-19 infection and long-term cognitive decline. Research in this area, particularly in the older population, could help shed light on the potential impact of COVID-19 infection on the increasing number of dementia cases. The aim of this master’s thesis was to examine the impact of self-reported COVID-19 recovery on cognitive abilities in the elderly population in Slovenia. The study included 369 older adults aged 60 to 99 years, of whom 71% were women. A total of 121 participants (33%) had recovered from COVID-19, with most reporting a mild to moderate course of illness. Cognitive abilities were assessed using four psychometric tests, namely Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-cog), Fototest, and Eurotest. In addition, an 8-minute resting electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded for each participant and the peak alpha frequency (PAF), which is recognized in the literature as a robust biomarker of cognitive abilities, was determined. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 recovery on cognitive ability metrics, while accounting for sociodemographic factors. Results showed that self-reported COVID-19 recovery was not a significant predictor of cognitive abilities assessed by psychometric tests or PAF. Based on these findings, we conclude that predominantly mild to moderate COVID-19 infection does not have a significant negative impact on cognitive abilities in older adults. Differences between current and previous findings may partly be attributed to the higher proportion of individuals with mild to moderate illness in our sample, the subjective nature of self-assessing illness history and severity, and the fact that the psychometric tests used are more sensitive to changes characteristic of dementia and may not detect all changes associated with COVID-19 We posit that our study contributes to a more realistic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive abilities in older adults, particularly in the context of dementia-related changes. To the best of our knowledge, this is also the first study on the Slovenian population to examine the impact of Covid-19 recovery on cognitive abilities in older adults using such a large sample.
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