Neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life in Spanish patients with Alzheimer’s disease during the COVID‐19 lockdown

Lara, Bryan; Carnes, Anna; Dakterzada, Farida; Benítez, Iván D.; Piñol, Gerard

doi:10.1111/ene.14339

Cited by 168 publications

(214 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Accordingly, Canevelli and colleagues ( 15 ) reported an increase of depressed mood within the first month of lockdown in an Italian sample of subjects with dementia. On the other hand, in a similar cohort in Spain, no worsening of depression was observed after 5 weeks of home confinement ( 9 ). Additionally, increased hopelessness was reported in subjects with AD after interruption of experimental trials on potential disease-modifying drugs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Accordingly, Canevelli and colleagues ( 15 ) reported that apathy presented in more than 25% of quarantined subjects with dementia within the first month of lockdown in Italy. Apathy also overwhelmingly increased over time, as compared with depressed mood, in subjects with dementia and home confinement ( 9 ). Patients with apathy are less likely to initiate behaviors necessary to impede the transmission of the virus, including selfcare and personal hygiene, washing hands, or covering their mouth while coughing ( 2 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Agitation is another typical behavioral alteration described in confined subjects with dementia ( 15 ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Motor agitation also steeply worsened over time in subjects with AD ( 9 ) and high levels of motor agitation and fear were reported in a Dutch survey of patients living in nursing facilities during the pandemic ( 18 ). High levels of agitation need to require greater dosages of medication to maintain behavioral control ( 22 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased risk of death in elderly patients with dementia impairment may not be solely due to their vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection ( 8 ), but may also relate to the cognitive, behavioral and psychological effects of rapid environmental changes brought by the pandemic. Worsening of cognitive impairment in elderly patients with dementia has been reported during the few months following the beginning of the pandemic ( 2 , 3 , 9 ). Impaired comprehension of the public health situation and difficulty following restrictive measures has also been reported ( 10 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Elderly With Dementia During COVID-19 Pandemic: Definition, Treatment, and Future Directions

et al. 2020

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Background Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of dementia, such as anxiety, depression, agitation, and apathy, are complex, stressful, and costly aspects of care, and are associated to poor health outcomes and caregiver burden. A steep worsening of such symptoms has been reported during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, their causes, their impact on everyday life, and treatment strategies have not been systematically assessed. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide a detailed description of behavioral and psychopathological alterations in subjects with dementia during COVID-19 pandemic and the associated management challenges. Methods A PubMed search was performed focusing on studies reporting alterations in behavior and mood and treatment strategies for elderly patients with dementia, in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The following search strategy was utilized: (COVID* OR coronavirus OR “corona vir*” OR SARS-CoV-2) AND (dementia OR demented OR dement* OR alzheimer* OR “pick’s disease” OR “lewy body” OR “mild cognitive” OR mild cognitive impairment OR MCI). Results Apathy, anxiety and agitation are the most frequently NPS during the COVID-19 pandemic and are mainly triggered by protracted isolation. Most treatment strategies rely on pharmacotherapy; technology is increasingly utilized with mixed results. Conclusions NPS of dementia during COVID-19 appear to arise from social restrictions occurring as a consequence of the pandemic. Implementation of caregiver support and the presence of skilled nursing home staff are required to restore social interaction and adjust technological support to the patients’ needs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Elderly With Dementia During COVID-19 Pandemic: Definition, Treatment, and Future Directions

et al. 2020

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“…In a Spanish study [57], 40 subjects diagnosed with MCI (20) or mild AD (20) who had performed neuropsychological and clinical assessment during the month prior to the lockdown, were reevaluated after 5 weeks of social isolation via the neuropsychiatric scale (NPI) and EuroQol-5D. The total basal NPI score worsened by about 6 points, from 33.75 to 39.05 after con nement, with the appearance of various neuropsychiatric symptoms including apathy and anxiety in subjects with MCI and apathy, agitation and aberrant motor behavior in AD patients.…”

Section: Impact Of Covid-19 On Psychiatric Health Of Patients With Comentioning

confidence: 96%

Direct and indirect neurological, cognitive and behavioral effects of COVID-19 on the normal elderly, Mild-Cognitive-Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease populations

Iodice

Cassano

Rossini

2020

Preprint

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This article reviews the main articles that have been published so far about the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on a particularly fragile population represented by the healthy elderly people as well as those with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Such populations have been among the most affected in the early stages of the pandemic due to the direct effects of the virus and numerous indirect effects now emerge and will have to be carefully assessed over time. The pandemic associated to COVID-19 has shifted most of the health resources to the emergency area and has consequently left the three main medical areas that dealing with the elderly population (oncology, time-dependent diseases and degenerative disease) temporarily “uncovered”. In the phase following the emergency, it will be crucial to guarantee to each area the economic and organizational resources to quickly return to the level of support of the pre-pandemic state. The emergency phase represented an important moment of discussion on the possibilities of telemedicine which will inevitably become increasingly important but all the limits of its use in the elderly population have to be considered. In the post-lockdown recovery phase, alongside the classic medical evaluation, the psychological evaluation must become even more important for doctors caring about people with cognitive decline.

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Dementia wellbeing and COVID‐19: Review and expert consensus on current research and knowledge gaps

Liu

Howard

Banerjee

et al. 2021

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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Objectives In response to a commissioned research update on dementia during the COVID‐19 pandemic, a UK‐based working group, comprising dementia researchers from a range of fields and disciplines, aimed to describe the impact of the pandemic on dementia wellbeing and identify priorities for future research. Methods We supplemented a rapid literature search (including unpublished, non‐peer reviewed and ongoing studies/reports) on dementia wellbeing in the context of COVID‐19 with expert group members' consensus about future research needs. From this we generated potential research questions the group judged to be relevant that were not covered by the existing literature. Results Themes emerged from 141 studies within the six domains of the NHS England COVID‐19 Dementia Wellbeing Pathway: Preventing Well, Diagnosing Well, Treating Well, Supporting Well, Living Well and Dying Well. We describe current research findings and knowledge gaps relating to the impact on people affected by dementia (individuals with a diagnosis, their carers and social contacts, health and social care practitioners and volunteers), services, research activities and organisations. Broad themes included the potential benefits and risks of new models of working including remote healthcare, the need for population‐representative longitudinal studies to monitor longer‐term impacts, and the importance of reporting dementia‐related findings within broader health and care studies. Conclusions The COVID‐19 pandemic has had a disproportionately negative impact on people affected by dementia. Researchers and funding organisations have responded rapidly to try to understand the impacts. Future research should highlight and resolve outstanding questions to develop evidence‐based measures to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia.

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Neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life in Spanish patients with Alzheimer’s disease during the COVID‐19 lockdown

Cited by 168 publications

References 11 publications

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Elderly With Dementia During COVID-19 Pandemic: Definition, Treatment, and Future Directions

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Elderly With Dementia During COVID-19 Pandemic: Definition, Treatment, and Future Directions

Direct and indirect neurological, cognitive and behavioral effects of COVID-19 on the normal elderly, Mild-Cognitive-Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease populations

Dementia wellbeing and COVID‐19: Review and expert consensus on current research and knowledge gaps

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