COVID-19 in the elderly: A Malaysian perspective

Mustaffa, Norlia; Lee, Si-Yuen; Nawi, Siti Nurbaya Mohd; Rahim, Mohd Jazman Che; Chee, Yong Chuan; Besari, Alwi Muhd; Lee, Yeong Yeh

doi:10.7189/jogh.10.020370

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This can in turn lead to higher COVID-19 infection [35], and ultimately passing the infection to the population more susceptible to COVID-19 related complications since young people were shown to be more likely to transmit the virus than others [36]. In line with these findings, some countries took stringent steps to limit the young population from transmitting COVID-19 infection to the older population [37][38][39][40] but recorded mixed success [40][41][42]. Rapid and proactive outreach programs targeted at young people in Australia and Canada might explain why the risk perception was similar between younger and older participants living in the diaspora in this study [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Risk perception of COVID-19 among sub-Sahara Africans: a web-based comparative survey of local and diaspora residents

et al. 2021

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Background Perceived risk towards the coronavirus pandemic is key to improved compliance with public health measures to reduce the infection rates. This study investigated how Sub-Saharan Africans (SSA) living in their respective countries and those in the diaspora perceive their risk of getting infected by the COVID-19 virus as well as the associated factors. Methods A web-based cross-sectional survey on 1969 participants aged 18 years and above (55.1% male) was conducted between April 27th and May 17th 2020, corresponding to the mandatory lockdown in most SSA countries. The dependent variable was the perception of risk for contracting COVID-19 scores. Independent variables included demographic characteristics, and COVID-19 related knowledge and attitude scores. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses identified the factors associated with risk perception towards COVID-19. Results Among the respondents, majority were living in SSA (n = 1855, 92.8%) and 143 (7.2%) in the diaspora. There was no significant difference in the mean risk perception scores between the two groups (p = 0.117), however, those aged 18–28 years had lower risk perception scores (p = 0.003) than the older respondents, while those who were employed (p = 0.040) and had higher levels of education (p < 0.001) had significantly higher risk perception scores than other respondents. After adjusting for covariates, multivariable analyses revealed that SSA residents aged 39–48 years (adjusted coefficient, β = 0.06, 95% CI [0.01, 1.19]) and health care sector workers (β = 0.61, 95% CI [0.09, 1.14]) reported a higher perceived risk of COVID-19. Knowledge and attitude scores increased as perceived risk for COVID-19 increased for both SSAs in Africa (β = 1.19, 95% CI [1.05, 1.34] for knowledge; β = 0.63, 95% CI [0.58, 0.69] for attitude) and in Diaspora (β = 1.97, 95% CI [1.16, 2.41] for knowledge; β = 0.30, 95% CI [0.02, 0.58] for attitude). Conclusions There is a need to promote preventive measures focusing on increasing people’s knowledge about COVID-19 and encouraging positive attitudes towards the mitigation measures such as vaccines and education. Such interventions should target the younger population, less educated and non-healthcare workers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Risk perception of COVID-19 among sub-Sahara Africans: a web-based comparative survey of local and diaspora residents

et al. 2021

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“…According to some studies, COVID-19 is more severe in older adults (2,3) and most of whom have comorbidities (4)(5)(6). Patients with dementia need long-term treatment and specialized care, and their cognitive and neuropsychological status differ from that of the general population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Gan

Liu

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

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Introduction: Numerous countries went into lockdown to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, which has impeded follow-up of chronic diseases, such as cognitive impairment (CI). Cognitive and neuropsychiatric changes during the COVID-19 pandemic are neglected in China, which is the world's whistleblower. To investigate the cognitive and neuropsychologic changes in CI, as well as the proportions of rapid cognitive decline (RCD) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide clinical evidence for CI intervention during a public health emergency.Methods: We performed a descriptive and retrospective study based on medical records from the memory clinic of Tianjin Dementia Institute collected through face-to-face evaluations. Information of 205 patients with CI, including patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, of whom 131 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were analyzed and compared to a control group before the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Among the 205 CI patients, the scores on the Chinese Mini Mental State Examination (C-MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), activities of daily living (ADLs), and the global Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were significantly different at the baseline and follow-up evaluations (p < 0.05) after 14.07 (±2.87) months. The same findings were recorded among AD patients, and they exhibited more sleep disturbances at the follow-up than at baseline (32.8 vs. 20.6%, p = 0.035). When compared to the control group, slightly worse performance of cognitive, −1.00 (−4.00, 1.00) from the C-MMSE, −1.00 (−2.00, 0.00) on the MoCA, 1.00 (0.00, 9.00) on ADLs and neuropsychological 0.00 (−1.00, 3.50) on the global NPI profile, at the follow-up were presented, particularly for delusion, agitation, irritability, and appetite disturbances (p < 0.05). Twenty-five (19.1%) AD patients and 48 (36.6%) controls suffered RCD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, AD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic were 0.408 times (95% confidence interval: 0.232–0.716) less likely to suffer RCD than the control.Conclusion: Confinement might ease the cognitive and neuropsychiatric deterioration of AD patients compared to those not in crisis and help prevent RCD in AD patients.

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“…This can in turn lead to higher COVID-19 infection [34], and ultimately passing the infection to the population more susceptible to COVID-19 related complications, since young people were shown to be more likely to transmit the virus than others [35]. In line with these ndings, some countries took stringent steps to limit young population from transmitting COVID-19 infection to older population [36][37][38][39] but recorded mixed success [39][40][41]. Rapid and proactive outreach programs targeted at young people in Australia and Canada might explain why the risk perception was similar between younger and older participants living in the diaspora in this study [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Title: Risk Perception related to COVID-19 among Sub-Sahara Africans: A Web-based Comparative Survey of local and diaspora residents

Abu

Oloruntoba

Osuagwu

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background Perceived risk towards the coronavirus pandemic is a key to improved compliance with public health measures to reduce the infection. This study investigated how Sub-Saharan Africans (SSA) living in their respective countries and those in the diaspora perceive their risk of COVID-19 outbreak and the factors associated. Methods A web-based cross-sectional survey on 1969 participants aged 18 years and above (55.1% male) was conducted between April 27th and May 17th 2020. The dependent variable was perception of risk for contracting COVID-19 scores. Independent variables included demographic characteristics; COVID-19 related knowledge and attitude scores. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses identified the factors associated with risk perception towards COVID-19. Results Among SSA respondents, majority were living in SSA (n = 1855, 92.8%) and 143 (7.2%) in the diaspora. There was no significant difference in the mean risk perception scores between the two groups (p = 0.117), however, those aged 18–28 years had lower risk perception scores (p = 0.003) than the older respondents, while those who were employed (p = 0.040) and had higher level of education (p < 0.001) had significantly higher risk perception scores than other respondents. After adjusting for covariates, multivariable analyses revealed that SSA residents aged 39–48 years (adjusted coefficient, β = 0.06, 95% CI [0.01, 1.19]) and health care sector workers (β = 0.61, 95% CI [0.09, 1.14]) reported a higher perceived risk of COVID-19. Knowledge and attitude scores increased as perceived risk for COVID-19 increases for both SSAs in Africa (β = 1.19, 95% CI [1.05, 1.34] for knowledge; β = 0.63, 95% CI [0.58, 0.69] for attitude) and in Diaspora (β = 1.97, 95% CI [1.16, 2.41] for knowledge; β = 0.30, 95% CI [0.02, 0.58] for attitude). Conclusions There is a need to promote preventive measures with focus on increasing people’s knowledge about COVID-19 and encouraging positive attitude towards the mitigation measures. Such interventions should target older participants and non-healthcare workers.

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COVID-19 in the elderly: A Malaysian perspective

Cited by 27 publications

References 7 publications

Risk perception of COVID-19 among sub-Sahara Africans: a web-based comparative survey of local and diaspora residents

Risk perception of COVID-19 among sub-Sahara Africans: a web-based comparative survey of local and diaspora residents

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Title: Risk Perception related to COVID-19 among Sub-Sahara Africans: A Web-based Comparative Survey of local and diaspora residents

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