Correlations between COVID-19 and burden of dementia: An ecological study and review of literature.

September 15, 2020 By:
  • Azarpazhooh MR
  • Amiri A
  • Morovatdar N
  • Steinwender S
  • Rezaei Ardani A
  • Yassi N
  • Biller J
  • Stranges S
  • Tokazebani Belasi M
  • Neya SK
  • Khorram B
  • Sheikh Andalibi MS
  • Arsang-Jang S
  • Mokhber N
  • Di Napoli M.

INTRODUCTION: Current evidence on the association between COVID-19 and dementia is sparse. This study aims to investigate the associations between COVID-19 caseload and the burden of dementia. METHODS: We gathered data regarding burden of dementia (disability-adjusted life years [DALYs] per 100,000), life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy (HALE) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study. We obtained COVID-19 data from Our World in Data database. We analyzed the association of COVID-19 cases and deaths with the burden of dementia using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Globally, we found significant positive (p < .001) correlations between life expectancy (r = 0.60), HALE (r = 0.58), and dementia DALYs (r = 0.46) with COVID-19 caseloads. Likewise, we found similar correlations between life expectancy (r = 0.60), HALE (r = 0.58) and dementia DALYs (r = 0.54) with COVID-19 mortality. CONCLUSION: Health policymakers should clarify a targeted model of disease surveillance in order to reduce the dual burden of dementia and COVID-19.

2020 Sep. J Neurol Sci.416:117013. Epub 2020 Jul 4.
Other information