Numerous people in Germany have now been infected with COVID-19 at least once - but how the disease progresses and whether those affected suffer from long-term neurocognitive consequences such as fatigue, attention or memory disorders varies greatly. Medical informatics specialist Prof Dr Antje Wulff and psychologist Prof Dr Mandy Roheger, both from University Medicine Oldenburg, now want to develop models that can predict how personal characteristics of those affected influence the development of long-term consequences.
The two scientists are coordinating one of the two research projects at University Medicine Oldenburg, which are funded by the COVID-19 Research Network of Lower Saxony (COFONI) with funds from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science. In a second project, healthcare researcher Prof Dr Falk Hoffmann is investigating how mental illnesses in children and adolescents have developed during the pandemic. A total of around 670,000 euros will flow to Oldenburg for the realisation of these two projects.
"With our research focus on healthcare research, we are pooling the expertise necessary for a detailed and comprehensive examination of the long-term consequences of the pandemic here at the site. We are now contributing this expertise to the COVID-19 research network for the benefit of patients," said Prof Dr Hans Gerd Nothwang, Dean of School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Together with Oldenburg psychologist Prof Dr Andrea Hildebrandt and sociologist Prof Dr Gundula Zoch as well as scientists from Hannover Medical School, Wulff and Roheger are investigating the long-term neurocognitive progression of COVID-19 and the various influences on it in detail. They are drawing on data from their own studies as well as patient data from various national and international databases that were created for research purposes during the pandemic.
The researchers will also collect new data and develop an app that allows those affected to take part in standardised tests. This will make it possible to document how neurocognitive abilities develop independently of the subjective perception of those affected. The researchers are using all this data to train prognosis models that can later use patient data, such as blood values or brain scans, to predict whether a person is at risk of suffering long-term consequences. Because the team assumes that personal circumstances - from the type of job to the number of children to be cared for - also play a role in how quickly someone recovers after an infection, the team is also investigating these factors.
As part of COFONI, healthcare researcher Hoffmann is investigating completely different consequences of the pandemic. He is looking at how mental illnesses in children and adolescents in Lower Saxony have developed over the course of the pandemic and to what extent this development is influenced by socio-economic factors. The frequency of illnesses such as depressive disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, anorexia and anxiety disorders is analysed. Hoffmann also analyses which specialist groups were involved in the diagnosis and treatment, which psychotropic drugs were used and how often those affected had to be admitted to hospital.
For his work, Hoffmann, who is collaborating with a colleague from the University Medical Centre Göttingen, is drawing on extensive routine data from a health insurance company from 2018 to 2022. The researchers' aim: They want to formulate recommendations on how to promote the mental health of children and adolescents during a pandemic or other crisis situation.
The COFONI network was founded in October 2020 on the initiative of various institutions from Göttingen and Hanover. It aims to bring together Lower Saxony's expertise in pandemic research. In the current funding line, a nine-member committee has decided on the allocation of research funds totalling 7.5 million euros.
