Covid pandemic ‘had lasting impact’ on brain health of people aged 50 or over

UK study finds cognitive function and working memory in older adults declined even if they were not infected with virus

• Brain health: six key questions answered

The pandemic has caused sustained harm to the brain health of people aged 50 or over, rapidly speeding up cognitive decline regardless of whether or not they caught Covid, researchers have discovered.

Almost 780 million people were killed or made ill by the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. Health experts are now learning more about the indirect effects of the biggest public health crisis in a century.