Some kind of dullness

Are people stupid forever after coronavirus? Fresh study of British scientists is dismantled by Professor Vladimir Spiridonov

Vladimir Spiridonov

Psychologist, professor, doctor of sciences

- In the journal Eclinicalmedicine, published by the Lancet group, that is, in a serious scientific publication, an article was published in which the following is very neatly shown.

A group of authors, mostly British, took a large sample, also mostly British. These people were evaluating intelligence in certain tests, and the authors carefully explain what kind of research it is. These are tests aimed at measuring different sides of cognitive functioning. To solve different types of problems, on spatial orientation, on different types and types of memory, and so on. And there is a subsidiary in which they were engaged in the study of people who were sick with a diagnosed Covid and lay in hospitals. As well as people who have papers about this diagnosis, but they did not lie in the hospital.

Scientists assessed the state of cognitive functioning in this main subsidiary.

It turned out that Covid's disease leads to a deterioration in different cognitive indicators. Moreover, the authors had to solve the difficult technical problem. It is connected with the fact that they did not have the results of the preliminary testing of these people. But they found a way out: they built a linear mathematical model, which made it possible to determine the approximate indicators of this group of people a few years ago, that is, in a large data sample, the conclusions overturned back, into the past. In order to evaluate how the cognitive functioning of people with the same indicators before the disease could be arranged.

In addition, they appreciated a bunch of demographic indicators: age, education and much more: to make sure - these factors do not play a role.

And it turned out that you have to formulate a sad conclusion: Covid really worsens cognitive functioning.

But then the journalistic hype begins. Domestic journalists (maybe Western ones too, I just have less dealing with them) - people uneducated and focused only on hype. Catastrophically!

The article has very accurate conclusions. And to what appeared in Russian -speaking texts, especially on the Internet, these conclusions are very small.

The study shows that the functioning has worsened. Really. This process lasts for several months, or even years after Covid. Although we all understand that a few years have passed, no more than two and a half. Therefore, all the screams about long -term decrease, about severe violations - pure hype.

What really is? Of course, there is a decrease, and it is noticeable, but noticeable with the help of special measuring instruments. The authors show that if you translate violations and losses into formal units (and the standard unit when measuring intelligence is a standard deviation from the average, it is 15 points), then the maximum of what is obtained as a result of published studies - 7 points. It is very decent.

But 7 points in IQ are not the most terrible loss.

This is a noticeable result. And it applies to different aspects of cognitive functioning. That is, Covid clearly hits on different sides of human nature. I am not a doctor, but I can formulate it so that it does not get on local, specialized systems, but clearly beats in general, as artillery shoots at squares. Yes, it is to some extent similar to cognitive exhaustion, but then we must understand!

And the authors write that additional research is required to understand the causes of this state of affairs in order to understand more distant consequences. The authors do not say at all that the process is irreversible! This was invented by journalists.

I have an example from another area explaining what is happening. A standard hype, which has been going on for many years: have modern children have become more to get sick than children fifty years ago? The answer is strange. For half a century, medical diagnostics have grown immeasurably. Imagine that we look at the starry sky with the naked eye and see some stars. Maybe be ten thousand, maybe a thousand - it doesn’t matter. And then we take a strong telescope and after that we find trillions of stars. With the diagnosis of childhood diseases, the situation is exactly the same. We began to look at the children at the Telescope and found that half a century ago it was not visible. Therefore, directly comparing diseases and the level of incidence now and then - an anecdotic lesson. Today we know many times more, see and can diagnose.

The same with Covid. Now, due to hype, a large amount of money, public attention to the disease, many scientists have become carefully looking at what is happening with sick and recovering.

Not at all about many diseases of this kind of work.

I would look with interest at the results about seasonal flu, not to mention other diseases.

I am not a specialist in medical statistics, but it seems to me that this crazy hype arose as a result of the fact that it was just the first time that this disease was looked systematic.

That Covid and its consequences require study is no doubt. As well as the fact that the infection is serious and is even more complex and filthy than it seemed originally. But once again: based on a specific scientific text in Lanzet, the hype is completely redundant and stupid.