Although the COVID-19 significantly induces mortality, many of the patients who recovered present other medical problems such as alopecias. Telogen effluvium (TE) is common alopecia that is usually related to events such as acute febrile diseases, including COVID-19. The purpose of the study was to evaluate selected psychological stress and cognitive function parameters in patients suffering from COVID-19 induced TE. The study included 32 Caucasian patients with COVID-19 induced TE and 32 patients who suffered from COVID-19 but did not develop TE. All patients were positively tested for COVID-19 approximately 2-3 months before qualification and were divided into two groups: patients with COVID-19 induced TE and patients without COVID-19 induced TE. The patients filled in two questionnaires: DASS-21 (The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), and a new-designed questionnaire on cognitive functions. Parameters were compared between both groups. U Mann-Whitney test, r-Pearson test, and statistical significance at p<0.05 were employed. Our analysis identified statistically significant differences in cognitive functioning (p=0.008) and a borderline difference in the severity of anxiety symptoms (p=0.088) between both groups. Patients with COVID-19 induced TE experienced significantly stronger deficits in terms of cognitive functioning than patients from the control group. There was also a correlation between the deterioration of cognitive functioning and the occurrence of symptoms measured with DASS-21 scale. The analysis showed a positive correlation between the deterioration of cognitive functioning and the severity of symptoms of depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001), and stress (p<0.001) in the entire group subjected to the study, and these correlations were strong (r in the range 0.5-0.7). Our results showed that TE in COVID-19 sufferers can be an indicator of the deterioration of cognitive functioning, which is associated with the severity of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

ESDR160 - Selected psychological stress and cognitive function parameters in patients suffering from COVID-19 induced telogen effluvium.

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