Cognitive Impairment and Return to Work in Long COVID

Long COVID is characterized by persistent symptoms following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and may include cognitive difficulties affecting attention, memory, executive functions, and processing speed. These impairments may interfere with daily functioning and the ability to maintain or resume professional activity. This retrospective single-center study is based on the reuse of routinely collected healthcare data from patients followed in the Long COVID day hospital of Hôpitaux Paris Est Val-de-Marne. No additional examinations, questionnaires, or data collection are performed specifically for the research. The primary objective is to investigate the association between cognitive performance assessed during neuropsychological evaluation and return to professional activity six months later. Secondary objectives are to describe the frequency and profile of cognitive impairments across different cognitive domains, describe return-to-work modalities at six months, compare cognitive performance according to employment status and type of return to work, and explore potential relationships between anxiety and depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, and occupational outcomes. The analyzed data include sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, neuropsychological test scores assessing attention, executive functions, short- and long-term memory, and processing speed, as well as anxiety and depression questionnaire scores. Employment status is assessed at the time of neuropsychological evaluation and six months later, including no return to work, partial return, or full return.