The Coronavirus Footprint on Dual-Task Performance in Post-Acute Patients after Severe COVID-19: A Future Challenge for Rehabilitation

Marica Giardini, Ilaria Arcolin (), Marco Godi, Simone Guglielmetti, Alessandro Maretti, Armando Capelli and Stefano Corna
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Marica Giardini: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Ilaria Arcolin: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Marco Godi: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Simone Guglielmetti: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Alessandro Maretti: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Armando Capelli: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Pulmonary Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy
Stefano Corna: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Veruno Institute, 28013 Gattico, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: Recent studies suggest that also the non-critical form of COVID-19 infection may be associated with executive function impairments. However, it is not clear if they result from cognitive impairments or by COVID-19 infection per se. We aimed to investigate if patients in the post-acute stage of severe COVID-19 (PwCOVID), without manifest cognitive deficits, reveal impairments in performing dual-task (DT) activities compared to healthy controls (HS). We assessed balance in 31 PwCOVID vs. 30 age-matched HS by stabilometry and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test with/without a cognitive DT. The DT cost (DTC), TUG test time and sway oscillations were recorded; correct cognitive responses (CCR) were calculated to evaluate cognitive performance. Results show a significant difference in overall DT performance between PwCOVID and HS in both stabilometry ( p < 0.01) and the TUG test ( p < 0.0005), although with similar DTCs. The main difference in the DTs between groups emerged in the CCR (effect size > 0.8). Substantially, PwCOVID gave priority to the motor task, leaving out the cognitive one, while HS performed both tasks simultaneously. Our findings suggest that PwCOVID, even without a manifest cognitive impairment, may present a deficit in executive function during DTs. These results encourage the use of DTs and CCR in PwCOVID.

Keywords: COVID-19; dual-task; balance assessment; TUG test; healthy subjects; rehabilitation; falls risk; prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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