Thread by @loscharlos

Wow — from @nytimes

"Can't Think, Can’t Remember: More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog"

"Adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s are driving the trend. Researchers point to #LongCovid as a major cause."
nytimes.com/2023/11/13/ups…

“Richard Deitz, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, analyzed the data and attributed much of the increase to #LongCovid”

“These numbers don’t do this — they don’t just start suddenly increasing sharply like this,” he said.

@LongCovidSOS @patientled @PandemicPatient @long_covid @MarkedByCovid @LongCOVIDPhysio @PeoplesCDC @LongCovidKids @C19LH_Advocacy @polybioRF “There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems — with remembering, concentrating or making decisions — than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows.

“The increase started with the pandemic” #LongCovid

"The number of working-age adults reporting 'serious difficulty' — thinking has climbed by an estimated one million people... And younger adults are driving the trend." #LongCovid

"The sharp increase captures the effects of #LongCovid for a.. significant portion of younger adults, researchers say"

"The rise in cognitive issues aligns with a common symptom that plagues #LongCovid: 'brain fog'

"Emmanuel Aguirre, a 30-year-old software engineer in Bay Area, had Covid in 2020. Within a month, he said, his life was transformed"

“I felt like I was permanently hung over, drunk, high & in a brain freeze all at once.”

"He stopped dating, playing video games & reading, though he managed to keep his job, working remotely..the brain fog has lingered, disappearing at times only to steamroll him days later."

"Cognitive impairment is a 'hallmark of #LongCovid,' said @zalaly"

“It’s not just fog, it’s a brain injury, basically,” said Dr. @MVGutierrezMD. "There are neurovascular changes. There’s inflammation. There are changes on M.R.I.s.” #LongCovid

"Studies estimate some 20-30% of people who get Covid have some cognitive impairment several months later, including people with symptoms ranging from mild to debilitating. Research has also shown clear biological changes from the virus related to cognition" #LongCovid

"Heather Carr, 31, sold agricultural machine parts in Syracuse, N.Y., but two coronavirus infections left her largely bed-bound & barely able to string together a basic train of thought. She had trouble staying awake while driving, & eventually had to give up her job." #Longcovid

“I cry when I try to think, now,” she said. “My brain short-circuits.”

..the number of working-age Americans with a disability who are employed has increased by an estimated 1.5 million people, census data show." #LongCovid

“We need to take this very seriously as a society. We need to understand who these people are, how they’re being impacted and what we can do about it.” — Monika Mitra, who directs the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University. #LongCovid