MERVE GÜNER OYTUN, YELDA ÖZTÜRK, ARZU OKYAR BAŞ, SERDAR CEYLAN, BURCU BALAM DOĞU, MUSTAFA CANKURTARAN, MELTEM GÜLHAN HALİL
European Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology - 2022;4(3):159-165
Objective: Patients diagnosed with dementia are at increased risk for Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection since they are unable to perform hygiene and social distance due to difficulties recalling or their dependency on another person. Also, there is a strong correlation between mortality of COVID-19 and dementia. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with dementia and their cognitive decline during a pandemic. Materials and Methods: A total of 210 patients diagnosed with dementia and followed up in the outpatient clinics of geriatrics in our university hospital were included in the study. These records were obtained from the hospital information system. Demographic data, comprehensive geriatric assessments, cognitive changes, COVID-19 infection status, and the dates of death were recorded. Results: Patients were divided into three groups: Mild, moderate, and severe dementia. COVID-19 prevalence was 11.9% in our study population. When we compared patients according to the history of COVID-19 infection status, there were no differences between the type and the stage of dementia between the COVID-19 infection negative and positive groups (p>0.05). Age and sex distribution were similar between these two groups (p>0.05). The prevalence of geriatric syndromes was similar in COVID-19 infection positive and negative groups. Furthermore, more than half of the patients in every stage of dementia had cognitive decline during the pandemic course. However cognitive decline rates were not different between COVID-19 positive and negative groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: One in every ten patients with dementia had COVID-19 infection to our results. According to our findings, there is no increase in the frequency of COVID-19 between stages of dementia, the restrictions due to the pandemic cause a decline in cognitive functions. During the pandemic, interventions to protect cognitive functions and periodic health control should not be interrupted for patients with dementia.
