Study protocol: SOcial LImitations Turn Up DEmentia (SOLITUDE)—Impact of COVID‐19 social isolation on patients’ cognition and mental health and on carers’ wellbeing

Abstract

Background: Social isolation and loneliness are both known to exert detrimental effects on mental health and cognitive functioning, as well as on medial temporal lobe volume in older adults. Reduced social interactions have also been found to increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older people. Since restrictions to social contacts have been imposed to tackle the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to investigate the long-term impact of the resulting social isolation on people with mild dementia and their carers. Method: This study has been implemented using a multi-centre longitudinal observational design to monitor mental health (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire), cognitive performance (telephone Mini-Mental State Examination and Telephone Assessment of Cognitive Function) and quality of life (Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease) of patients with mild dementia due to neurodegenerative aetiologies, as well as carers' burden (12-item Zarit Burden Interview). Additionally, a structured interview is included to assess the potential impact of social isolation on everyday functioning of patients and carers. Participants are assessed telephonically at three time-points: baseline and two follow-ups after 3 and 6 months. Result: Six centres across the UK have confirmed capacity and capability to recruit up to eighty participants. Between September and December 2020, twenty-nine participants have been recruited across different sites and completed the baseline assessment. Moreover, nine participants have already completed the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion:This study (predicted completion date: July 2021) is expected to provide valuable insights into the potential long-term consequences of lockdown measures on people with dementia and their carers. Moreover, it will enable the identification of potential risk/protective factors for decline in mental health and cognition due to

The impact of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with dementia and caregivers

“…The SOLITUDE study (osf.io/9chet) is a multi-centre observational longitudinal study in which participants undergo a total of three telephone-based assessments: at baseline (within a week from informed consent), at 3 months and at 6 months. A series of tests and questionnaires were completed by the PWD and their carers to assess patients' cognitive performance, mental health and quality of life, and carers' burden (for the full protocol, see Manca et al, 2021b). At baseline, each carer completed also a customised semi-structured interview with questions on daily-life activities carried out during lockdown and health conditions suffered by them and by the PWD (all questions can be viewed in Table 1).…”

“…To respond to the above-mentioned concerning changes affecting PWD, the SOcial LImitations Turn Up DEmentia (SOLITUDE) study (Manca et al, 2021b) was designed with the aim of addressing the central knowledge gap (Liu et al, 2021) of the long-term impact of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on cognitive and mental health of PWD and on their carers' burden in the United Kingdom (UK).…”

The Impact of Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Symptom Progression in People With Dementia: Findings of the SOLITUDE Study

“…Indeed, so far most investigations have only used screening measures for global cognitive decline (e.g., Mini Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and/or assessed patients’ cognitive performance only once, a few weeks after the introduction of social isolation measures. The SOcial LImitations Turn Up DEmentia (SOLITUDE) ( 24 , 25 ) study was set up as a multi-centre observational longitudinal study to investigate these issues in the longer term, to document changes in cognitive performance, mental health and quality of life of PWD and to assess burden of their carers over 6 months since the first lockdown was enforced in the UK [for details of the full protocol see ( 26 )].…”