A new study showed that troubles with memory, finding words and going through new information are among the "long COVID-19" symptoms that appear to be occurring more frequently than previously thought after severe coronavirus cases.

A study in the United States published in the scientific journal Jama shows that former patients hospitalized with COVID-19 experienced long-term symptoms much more frequently than people with less severe cases and who were treated as outpatients.

There were particularly strong differences in problems with finding words: This occurred in 13% of outpatients but in 35% of those treated in hospital.

In terms of problems with attention span, the figures were 5% and 15%, while memory was impaired in 12% of outpatients and 39% of hospitalized patients.

The study is based on data from 740 COVID-19 patients registered with the U.S. Mount Sinai Hospital Group. Some 63% of the participants were women.

Overall, the patients most often suffered from problems with remembering and memorizing things – this affected almost one in four people in the study.

This was followed by word-finding problems or a generally slower speed in processing information. The study did not include patients who had no contact with medical staff.

The long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19 are part of a whole series of health complaints former coronavirus patients have struggled with.

Over 200 symptoms are associated with long COVID-19, and there are many overlaps with illnesses that are difficult to grasp – for example, depression and psychosomatic clinical pictures.