The post-acute effects of COVID-19 are not associated with robust long-term regional or global brain volumetric changes: A Bayesian meta-analytic evidence.
Tommaso Costa, Beatrice Ditadi, Enrico Premi et al.
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In 30 seconds
This Bayesian meta-analysis assessed whether MRI studies show reproducible long-term brain-volume differences after COVID-19. It synthesized nine experiments reporting whole-brain measures and 12 reporting regional measures, covering 1107 people with a history of COVID-19 and 609 controls. Evidence for global differences was limited: whole-brain volume had BF₁₀ = 3.286, described as moderate evidence for a difference, while total gray matter volume had BF₁₀ = 1.206, described as anecdotal evidence. Across 26 regions of interest, the analysis found no reproducible volumetric alterations.
Key findings
- For whole-brain volume, BF₁₀ = 3.286, indicating moderate evidence for a difference.
- For total gray matter volume, BF₁₀ = 1.206, indicating anecdotal evidence for a difference.
- Regional analyses found no reproducible volumetric alterations across the 26 examined regions of interest.
Why it matters
The synthesis helps distinguish reported post-COVID MRI abnormalities from a consistent pattern of long-term volumetric change. Its findings suggest that structural volume differences are not robustly reproduced across the available studies, providing useful context when interpreting neuroimaging research on post-acute COVID-19 effects.
What to keep in mind
The meta-analysis was limited to the available MRI experiments and used a common-effect framework; the source notes substantial variability in methods and reported results across studies.