Avaliação da percepção visual de cores em adultos acometidos pela covid-19

Abstract

COVID-19 is considered a neuroinvasive disease. However, there are still many aspects to be clarified regarding the extent of its alterations, such as, for example, in color vision. Literature searches indicated that only one study on the subject had been published. In this sense, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on chromatic sensitivity and color discrimination in adults. The final sample consisted of 30 volunteers, with a mean age of 27.5 (SD = 9.10) years, predominantly female (70%). Participants were divided into two groups based on data from the sociodemographic questionnaire: Study Group (EG; n = 13), composed of participants with a history of COVID-19; and Control Group (CG; n = 17), composed of participants without a history of COVID-19. The following instruments were used: Sociodemographic and clinical data questionnaire, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories (BAI and BDI II). Visual color perception was measured using the Lanthony Desaturated D-15 Test for color discrimination and the Cambridge Color Test (CCT) for color sensitivity. The results showed no statistically significant differences between GE and GC for any of the tests (p > 0.05). These data demonstrate that possible changes that may occur in color perception as a result of COVID19, as demonstrated in the literature, seem to be more linked to the acute phase of the disease, and may not be maintained for a long time after recovery from the disease. However, the data are preliminary, so more studies are needed to understand the subject, especially because the time window for the appearance of neurological complications is still unknown.