The influence of fatigue on neuropsychological performance in COVID-19 survivors dataset.
Description
This dataset is complementary material for the article "The influence of post-COVID fatigue on neuropsychological performance", in this research we analyzed the relationship between the presence of post-COVID fatigue and neuropsychological performance in individuals who tested positive to SARS-CoV-2 and negative controls. Our research hypothesis was that post-COVID fatigue has a negative impact on neuropsychological performance. The referred data consists of 1) study participants' demographic and clinical characteristics, including SARS-CoV-2 status, determined by the COVID-19 Diagnostic Center at Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana, Mexico, 2) normalized scores from subtests of BANFE-2 and NEUROPSI, the two neuropsychological assessment instruments performed by the participants, normalized scores were obtained according to manual procedures, in the case of BANFE-2, normalized scores range from 1 to 19, while in NEUROPSI, they range from -3 to +3, this dataset also contains 3) global parameters from the neuropsychological assessment, including total scores from BANFE-2 and NEUROPSI, as well as total errors in the assessment. Data was obtained through telephone interview. Neuropsychological data were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model that allowed to measure the influence of post-COVID fatigue, as well as demographical and clinical variables over neuropsychological performance, as explained in detail in the "steps to reproduce" section. We observed significant regression analyzes in the Alphabetical Arrangement Lists 1 and 2 and Consecutive Subtraction B (100-7) tasks from BANFE-2, and in BANFE-2 total score, NEUROPSI total score and total errors in the assessment, where in all cases significant coefficients were obtained for the variable "study condition" with a lower neuropsychological performance in participants with post-COVID fatigue compared to negative controls.
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Steps to reproduce
SARS-CoV-2 testing to patients suspected of COVID-19 was performed using the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel according to the manufacturer protocol (Kit Viral Quick-RNA, Zymo Research, catalog number R1035), as part of the services offered by our diagnostic center. We randomly selected 20 participants (20-60 years old) with post-COVID fatigue and 20 SARS-CoV-2 negative age matched controls from a database of 360 residents of Tijuana, Baja California in a cross-sectional study design. Participants were invited to participate in the study and informed consent was obtained. A health survey developed by the authors of the study was applied, along with a neuropsychological assessment test via telephone call to all 40 participants who met inclusion criteria. Data collection took place in June 2021, between 3 and 6 months after participants’ SARS-CoV-2 test. The Neuropsychological assessment was performed using the following set of verbal tasks from NEUROPSI and BANFE-2. NEUROPSI: a) Digit span task (backwards), b) Consecutive subtraction (20-3), c) Spontaneous memory curve, d) Semantic fluency, e) Phonological fluency, f) Math; BANFE-2: a) Alphabetical arrangement (Lists 1 and 2), b) Consecutive subtraction (A: 100-7 and B: 40-3), c) Consecutive addition (1+5), d) Verbal fluency. Subtest scores and completion times were registered according to manual procedures. Normalized scores from individual tasks were converted from natural scores and completion times using the methods stated in the manual of each of the two tests. Total scores of the BANFE-2 and NEUROPSI neuropsychological assessment batteries were calculated using the procedures established in their respective test manual, but they were only applied for the performed verbal tasks, since the visual and manipulative tasks included in these instruments were not performed due to the telephone assessment. Total errors in the assessment were determined for each participant by adding the errors obtained in all NEUROPSI and BANFE-2 subtests. Multiple linear regression analysis, using 'enter' method, was conducted for the normalized score of each subtest and for all 3 global scores, the main independent variable of the model was study condition, which was analyzed as a dummy variable, where NC = 0 and PCF = 1, the model considered the demographic independent variables age (analyzed as a continuous variable) and sex (analyzed as a dummy variable, male = 0, female = 1), the model also included the following independent variables related to health: hypertension, asthma, and administration of supplemental oxygen during COVID-19 recovery, these health variables were analyzed as dummy, where the presence of each condition was considered "1" and its absence was considered "0". Statistical analyzes were carried out using SPSS Statistics version 23. Statistical significance for all analyses was set to p < 0.05 in all cases.