Those affected by dementia are apparently twice as likely to get Covid-19 as healthy people. And: Apparently their chances of recovery are worse. US researchers found this out after evaluating around 61.9 million patient data.
A team of researchers from Cleveland (Ohio), among others, reacted to the previously sparse data on the connection between the corona virus and dementia. In the course of evaluating the electronic patient files of around 61.9 million Americans, they found that dementia patients are twice as likely (and usually more severely) to develop Covid-19 than non-dementia patients.
Dementia – previously little known risk factor for Covid-19
All the details of the study can be found in the specialist journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, a publication of the American Alzheimer’s Association.
As it says, there is much to suggest that dementia could be a previously little-known risk factor for Covid-19. The course of the disease is often more severe when people infected with corona also suffer from dementia, and often ends fatally.
Covid-19 patients with dementia more often in the hospital
On average, 25 percent of US adults would have to be hospitalized if they contracted Covid-19. If they also suffer from dementia, the proportion of hospitalizations has already risen to a third. Even more serious: If it is a question of African American dementia and Covid 19 patients, even 70 percent would have to be treated in hospital.
More deaths in the case of dementia and Covid-19
In addition, significantly more dementia patients die from Covid-19, as the researchers want to have found out – one in four. Without dementia, the risk of death in Covid 19 patients (around five percent) is significantly lower.
Differences depending on the type of dementia
In addition, the type of dementia should also influence the extent of the risk. As is well known, dementia is the umbrella term for various diseases with progressive impairment of memory performance.
Patients with vascular dementia, i.e. those with characteristic circulatory disorders in the brain, are most at risk of (seriously) contracting Covid-19. This was followed by patients with presenile, senile and post-traumatic dementia as well as Alzheimer’s patients.
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How does the connection come about?
Physically weakened and therefore more vulnerable
The authors of the study suspect that the increased risk is related to damage to the blood-brain barrier in dementia patients. Corona viruses, but also other pathogens, could possibly penetrate more easily as a result.
Likewise, dementia patients often suffer from side effects and diseases such as diabetes, severe obesity and cardiovascular problems, which are already considered risk factors for Covid-19 regardless of the main finding. This also includes age. On average, one in five people aged 85 and over suffers from dementia, and over the age of 90 it is even one in three.
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Many dementia patients in homes
Last but not least, many dementia patients lived in nursing homes. The business magazine «Forbes» points this out in its report on the study. Accordingly, deaths in nursing homes account for almost half of all Covid 19 deaths in the United States. However, the usually high age of nursing home residents also plays a part in this figure.
Behavioral patterns typical of the disease
In addition, the study authors also note the behavioral disorders typical of dementia patients. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, these could manifest themselves as an inability to get used to or remember wearing a face mask, keeping your distance from other people and washing your hands frequently.
Balancing the protection and isolation of dementia patients
The authors of the study speak of “preliminary results”, which are apparently to be further substantiated. However, what is already becoming clear is that strategies must be developed and implemented in order to meet the need for protection of this risk group without overly demarcating and isolating them.