Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly contagious viral respiratory illness associated with hypoxia and dyspnea. Many of those who contracted and recovered from SARS during the 2002–2003 outbreak reported persistent physical, psychological, and cognitive difficulties. Here, we investigated the residual influences of SARS on cognition for a subset of healthcare professionals who recovered and were referred for neuropsychological evaluation through their workplace insurance.

Twenty-eight healthcare professionals were evaluated on neuropsychological and mood functioning approximately 1.5 years post-recovery from a severe respiratory illness. Test scores were compared with age-matched normative data, and correlations were examined between mood, self-report memory scales, subjective complaints (e.g., poor concentration, pain, fatigue), illness severity (i.e., length of hospitalization, oxygen use during hospital stay), and cognitive performance.

Participants performed within age expectations on the majority of cognitive measures including overall memory ability. Although processing speed was generally within normal limits, 43% showed significant speed–accuracy trade-offs favoring accuracy over maintaining speed. Deficits were observed on measures of complex attention, such as working memory and the ability to sustain attention under conditions of distraction. Participants endorsed poorer memory ability than same-age peers on a meta-memory measure and mild to moderate depression and anxiety symptoms. Objective test performance was largely uncorrelated with self-reports, mood, or illness severity, except for moderate correlations between complex attention and participants’ subjective ratings of Everyday Task-Oriented Memory.

These findings demonstrate specific long-term cognitive deficits associated with SARS and provide further evidence of the cognitive effects of hypoxic illnesses.

严重急性呼吸系统综合症 (SARS) 是一种高度传染性的病毒性呼吸道疾病，与缺氧和呼吸困难有关。许多在 2002 年至 2003 年爆发期间感染 SARS 并从中康复的人报告说存在持续的身体、心理和认知困难。在这里，我们调查了 SARS 对一部分医疗保健专业人员认知的残余影响，这些医疗保健专业人员已经康复并通过工作场所保险被转介进行神经心理学评估。

28 名医疗保健专业人员在从严重呼吸系统疾病恢复后大约 1.5 年接受了神经心理和情绪功能评估。将测试分数与年龄匹配的规范数据进行比较，并检查情绪、自我报告记忆量表、主观抱怨（例如注意力不集中、疼痛、疲劳）、疾病严重程度（即住院时间长短、住院期间的氧气使用量）之间的相关性停留）和认知表现。

参与者在大多数认知测量（包括整体记忆能力）上的表现都在年龄预期范围内。尽管处理速度通常在正常范围内，但 43% 的人表现出显着的速度-准确性权衡，有利于准确性而不是保持速度。在复杂注意力的测量上观察到缺陷，例如工作记忆和在分心的情况下保持注意力的能力。参与者认可在元记忆测量和轻度至中度抑郁和焦虑症状方面比同龄同龄人更差的记忆能力。客观测试表现在很大程度上与自我报告、情绪或疾病严重程度无关，除了复杂注意力与参与者对日常任务导向记忆的主观评分之间存在适度相关性。

这些发现证明了与 SARS 相关的特定长期认知缺陷，并为缺氧疾病的认知影响提供了进一步的证据。