Pre-pandemic cognitive function and COVID-19 mortality: prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Poorer performance on standard tests of cognitive function is related to an elevated risk of death from lower respiratory tract infections. Whether pre-pandemic measures of cognition are related to COVID-19 mortality is untested.

Methods

UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study, comprises around half a million people who were aged 40 to 69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when a reaction time test was administered to the full sample, and verbal-numeric reasoning assessed in a subgroup. Death from COVID-19 was ascertained from participant linkage to a UK-wide national registry.

Results

Between April 1st and September 23rd 2020, there were 388 deaths (138 women) ascribed to COVID-19 in the 494,932 individuals (269,602 women) with a reaction time t

SUBMITTER: Batty GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7872381 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature