Neuropsychiatric consequences of COVID-19

A review of the literature is devoted to post-COVID neuropsychiatric disorders. The article reveals the concept of post-COVID syndrome, provides the definitions of NICE and WHO, describes the clinical picture of post-COVID as a systemic disease. Data are provided on the increase in psychiatric morbidity at various times after the coronavirus infection, including depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and asthenia. An asthenoneurotic symptom complex with severe asthenia and cognitive dysfunction, which is often accompanied by prolonged anxiety-depressive symptoms, is described as the main characteristic of the post-COVID syndrome. Cognitive impairments within the framework of the post-COVID syndrome are mainly represented by memory impairments, a decrease in the ability to concentrate, deterioration in executive functions, regardless of age and previous cognitive deficit. It was noted that delirium in the acute period of coronavirus infection is a significant risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment in the post-COVID period. The proposed mechanisms and risk factors for the neuropsychiatric consequences of COVID-19 are described, while the importance of systemic inflammation as the leading pathogenetic mechanism of post-COVID mental disorders is emphasized.