Memory, Attention, and Concentration Dysfunction Post-COVID-19 Among College Students in Saudi Arabia: A Case-Control Study

Introduction Multiple studies have demonstrated the multi-systemic involvement of COVID-19, and among all of these systems, there is mounting evidence that COVID-19 is linked to neurocognitive impairment, particularly when neurological symptoms are present. Our aim is to study the concept of cognitive dysfunction post-COVID-19 among college students in Saudi Arabia and its potential effect on their academic performance. Methods A population-based, observational case-control study was conducted across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from May 2022 to September 2022. A total of 2,150 eligible students have completed the study questionnaire. An exact 776 (36.1%) of them had COVID-19 infection (group 1), while 1,374 (63.9%) students had not (group 2). The sample population was college-enrolled students from 18 to 28 years old, with a mean age of 21.3 for group 1 and 20.8 for group 2. Both groups were handed the same data collection tool to establish whether the COVID-19 survivors had cognitive deficits more than the control group. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding their bio-demographic data, study methods, or vaccination rate. However, both Neurological Fatigue and Big Five Inventory score were significantly higher among infected students, comparable to non-infected students. A negative relation was found between the infected students’ neurological fatigue (rho=-0.14), cognitive failure (rho=-0.10), and depression and anxiety scale with their GPA (rho=0.03). Contrarily, infected students showed a positive relationship between their GPA and the Big Five Inventory (rho=0.13) and Short Grit Scale (rho=0.14). Also, there was a significant inverse relation between students’ apathy motivation with their Big Five Inventory. Likewise, there was an inverse relation between their neurological fatigue, cognitive failure, and apathy motivation with their Short Grit Scale. Conclusion We demonstrated that college students who have survived COVID-19 infection mostly complain of cognitive impairment, even though most of them have no comorbidities or psychological disorders.