Cognitive impairments in patients with overweight and obesity

Background. In modern society, the growth of the overweight and obese population increase every year. This confirms the status assigned to the problem under consideration as a non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century. At the same time, the amount of scientific information about the influence of excess weight on various aspects of human life is actively increasing. This undoubtedly requires a systematic generalization of the available data.Aims. The presented literature review is devoted to the analysis of modern scientific research on the specificity of cognitive impairment in overweight and obese people.Materials and methods. Information search was carried out using Internet resources (PubMed, Web of Science, eLibrary.ru, frontiersin.org, sciencedirect. com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), literature sources were analyzed for the period from 2001 to 2020 for the following keywords: obesity, overweight, cognitive functions, cognitions, cognitive impairments.Results. As a result of the literature review, the main directions of research on the relationship between cognitive impairment and overweight, as well as the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and obesity, were identified. The specificity of diametrically opposed opinions within the framework of each consecrated trend is presented. According to the results of the analysis of the identified areas, in the scientific community the most common point of view is the presence of a connection between obesity and cognitive impairment. In this connection, the authors identified the main cognitive impairments associated with excess weight and their mediating mechanisms. And also the age specificity of the problem under study is indicated.Conclusions. Despite the fact that the problem of the relationship between obesity, overweight and cognitive functions is comprehensively studied, there is a shortage of data on the state of thinking, attention, praxis, gnosis, and speech in overweight people

Obese Adolescent: Social and Psychological Portrait

Background. Obesity and its complications continue to be a serious problem in children and adolescents in the 21st century. Clinical and psychological studies show that obesity may lead to changes in emotional status of adolescents. Today exposure to sociodemographic parameters is known to be a risk factor for the development of obesity in children. Thus, our research focuses on the relationship between sociodemographic  and psychological factors and obesity in adolescents, as this link has not been sufficiently studied.Aim. To determine sociodemographic and psychological factors associated with adolescent obesity.Materials and methods. Our cross-sectional study included 111 obese adolescents and 39 normal weight adolescents, aged 11–17 years. We used anthropometry and questionnaire methods to examine emotional state, eating habits and socio-demographic characteristics of teenagers.Results. It is shown that adolescents with obesity are more likely than adolescents with normal weight to  have a stepparent (p = 0.002). All adolescents with normal weight were involved in extracurricular activities  and attended different courses (studying with tutors, going to language schools, exam preparation courses),  compared to adolescents with obesity (75 %) (p < 0.001). We did not find any differences between the groups in the domains of sports activities and screen time. When examining the emotional state of adolescents, we found that more people from the group with obesity suffered from lower self-esteem than from the control group (p = 0.041). Adolescents with obesity tend to have (15.3 %) severe depression, while no controls reported this issue.Conclusions. We found that adolescents with obesity more often live in a step-family. They are less likely to be engaged in additional educational activities. We succeeded to describe the emotional status and eating habits of obese adolescents

Assessment of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents by the method of questionnaire

Background. In Russia, of all detected cases of COVID-19, 18 % were in the pediatric population. According to a number of studies, adolescents develop long-term clinical and psychological consequences after an illness. Therefore, at present, the most relevant is a thorough study of the structure and severity of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents.The aim of the research was to assess the severity of consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents depending on the time period after diseases.Methods. The sample included 96  people aged 11–16  years: 48  adolescents who  have  undergone COVID-19 (main group); 48  adolescents who  did  not  have  COVID-19 (control group). The main group was divided into six subgroups, depending on the period after COVID-19. The following research methods were used: clinical history using a standardized interview method; “Correction test” method by B.  Bourdon; Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-1A); Adolescent’s Form of Manifest Anxiety Scale by A.M. Prikhozhan.Results. Clinical symptoms of COVID-19 during the acute phase of the disease were considered in adolescents. It has been established that the most common symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, severe fatigue, impaired sense of smell, impaired taste, headache (most often localized in the frontal region). Clinical and psychological symptoms characteristic of post-COVID syndrome were considered as consequences of COVID-19 in adolescents. The majority of the  examined adolescents showed the following clinical symptoms of COVID-19 after discharge: asthenia, disturbances of smell and taste; lasting from 2 to  64 weeks. As psychological symptoms, adolescents were characterized by reduced attention span, reduced speed of information processing and concentration, as well as the presence of symptoms of severe depression and high anxiety. During the second month after COVID-19, the most unfavorable emotional state was revealed in adolescents.Conclusions. The data obtained made it possible to determine that post-COVID syndrome in adolescents is characterized by the presence of an asthenic condition, impaired attention, high anxiety, severe depressive symptoms

Cognitive and emotional impairments associated with COVID-19 (literature review)

Background. Currently, there are two main areas of study of the impact of a new coronavirus infection on mental processes: the first is in connection with the regime of self-isolation and restrictions in a pandemic; the second – with the impact of the pathological process itself and the post-covid syndrome on the central nervous system. The results of the studies indicate the relationship of this infection with local lesions of the brain and the corresponding disturbances in the functioning of mental processes.The aim of the research. To systematize and analyze the results of studies on the main routes of penetration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into the central nervous system, cognitive and emotional disorders in people who have recovered from COVID-19, and to discuss the areas of psychological rehabilitation for this group of patients.Materials and methods. Information search was carried out using Internet resources (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, bmj.com, eLibrary.ru, frontiersin.org, sciencedirect. com, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), literature sources were analyzed for the period from May of 2020 to November of 2021 for the following keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, cognitive functions, cognitions, cognitive impairments, emotional dysfunction, affective dysfunction.Results. According to the analysis of the literature, most researchers identify the neurogenic pathway of SARS-CoV-2 penetration into the CNS, as well as penetration through the bloodstream or through cerebral lymphatic drainage, which are a possible cause of mental disorders of a neurological nature. Correction of these violations involves the creation of a comprehensive system of rehabilitation with the inclusion of psychotherapeutic methods.Conclusions. Despite the lack of a single picture describing the specifics of cognitive and affective symptoms in COVID-19, in the most general terms, there is a certain consensus. So, quite often, post-COVID cognitive symptoms are characterized by impaired memory and attention, and post-COVID affective symptoms are characterized by increased levels of anxiety, depression, and fatigue. The issues of diagnosis and correction of disorders in post-COVID syndrome and the admissibility of the existence of this diagnosis are still relevant

Smell and taste disorders in pregnant women with COVID-19

Background. Smell disorder is a recognized clinical symptom of COVID-19 infection. The problem of the loss of sense of smell in the structure of COVID-19 pathogenesis during pregnancy remains unresolved.   The aim of the study. To determine the sense of smell and taste in pregnant women with COVID-19, as well as to evaluate the relationship between the sense of smell and the number of SARS-CoV-2 genome equivalents in the nasopharyngeal secretion.   Material and methods. In the case-control study, 121 pregnant women participated: 40 of them were infected with COVID-19; 81 were not infected with COVID-19 earlier and at the time of the study. The survey was conducted in July 2021. Sense of smell was assessed using the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCCRC) olfactory test, which includes olfactory threshold determination and odor identification assessment. Taste was measured according to the O. Massarelli method. Viral load was calculated using a standardized method for determining the numberof SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies in 1 ml of nasopharyngeal secretion.   Results. The incidence of olfactory disorders (moderate / severe and anosmia) in pregnant women with COVID-19 is 62.5 % compared to 22.23 % among pregnant women who have never had COVID-19 (p = 0.002). No significant taste disorders were identified. The threshold value for the manifestation of olfactory disorders was 17794 RNA copies of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which corresponds to the 37th threshold cycle (Ct).   Conclusion. During pregnancy in the acute phase of COVID-19, sense of smell is significantly impaired, but not sense of taste. Decreased sense of smell is associated with SARS-CoV-2 viral load