I would be quite surprised if a cold or mild flu caused a cognitive deficit equivalent to ten years of aging, persisting after recovery.

Many viral infections including relatively mild ones can potentially cause post viral syndrome, which includes cognitive problems.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatig...

The impact on non critical patients wasn’t as bad as that, but more than half as severe. Even so, if that were the case for mild viral infections I’d be a vegetable by now.

Influenza has been shown to cause transient (3 months) cognitive deficit in some patients.

I am not implying that Covid-19 is like a flu - it is not - but I think it is not so different from other viruses to induce never before seen symptoms.

The fact that your comment is still the most up voted should be part of a future psychology study where people become extremely biased towards good news when scared

Flip it around and I might say that some people are more attracted to bad news and hope for the worst and are disappointed that the situation isn't truly that bad?

I'd say most of the world is wired towards the drama of bad news, which is why there is so much demand for it.

I'm describing something that happened in the thread and you flip it around with something that didn't?

People do hope for bad things to happen, there are pessimists and optimists.

You've interpreted this data is bad and you feel others should feel bad about it. Maybe that's not a conclusion most feel they need to agree too?

Don't forget this study isn't completely proven other factors might be at play.

I did not interpret anything. We are. Discussing about an article and a comment that is factual wrong according to the article. Don't fight facts and don't confuse them with opinions.

Yes and the severity and the true cause of the symptoms is still not set in stone, so you're confused because correlation does not imply causation.

It's a study and more needs to be done.

I agree with you but still I am commenting on the factual sentences that exist in the article and not their correctness. I'm sure you understood already.

So why then do you say that the top comment is wrong to be the top comment ?

My friend is an epidemiologist working for a leading international health organisation and told me the same thing yesterday.

Based on what I understand about COVID, I suspect it would be more informative to research if inflammatory diseases in general have such an association.

I haven't heard of it with the flu.

ANY virus infection can do this. I've had a human Parvovirus B19 infection last year - infection which is mild to zero symptoms in most adults, but in fewer than 5% it causes serious complications, some of them life long. Well, unfortunately it looks like I'm in this second group as I'm still struggling with some issues over a year later(reactive arthritis for which I'm getting steroid injections) - and the best the doctors could tell me "yep, it can happen with any virus infection, sorry".

I'm sorry to hear that. It's not typically part of the warning about the flu that you can face lingering cognitive impairment even if you never thought you got the flu.

You have never had a bad flu and had cognitive trouble during recovery?

I had a flu once and lost 6kgs in less than 10 days and I was physically and mentally wrecked for some time.

I had a nasty flu-like something a few years back and lost weight like that too. I didn't notice any lingering issues after maybe 2 1/2 or 3 weeks. The flu had me in bed for a week and weak for ten days or so and yes, it took a while longer to fully recover. But I did fully recover.

And apparently the effect is real and exists. I just never heard anyone say about the flu, "get your flu shot or else face a real possibility of lingering mental impairment."

The single biggest thing I've learned about viruses from this pandemic isn't that Covid19 is bad, it's that people (myself included) conflate the flu with the common cold and end up underestimating it.

I have a suspicion the "it's just a flu" crowd are aware of this and the different understanding of the severity of seasonal flu viruses is where the misunderstanding is, that what they're really saying is more like "this other thing is just as bad and we don't stop the world for it".