Top

Published in:

28-07-2023 | COVID-19 | Original Communication

Assessment of COVID-19 lockdown effect on early Alzheimer Disease progression

Authors: Carmen Peña-Bautista, Lourdes Álvarez-Sánchez, Inés Ferrer-Cairols, Lorena García-Vallés, Miguel Baquero, Consuelo Cháfer-Pericás

Published in: Journal of Neurology | Issue 10/2023

Abstract

Introduction

Recently, many aspects of daily life have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with Alzheimer Disease (AD) could be more vulnerable to those daily life changes as experts expected. Mainly, the lockdown involved reduced social contact and cognitive stimulation. So, it could affect the AD expression, increasing the patients’ disabilities development.

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on cognitive impairment progression in early AD patients.

Methodology

The participants were patients with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI-AD) from the Neurology Unit (La Fe Hospital), who were neuropsychologically evaluated (cognitive impairment, daily activity tests) twice over 2 years. They were classified into a case group (n = 21), evaluated before and after lockdown condition, and a control group (n = 20), evaluated entirely before the lockdown condition.

Results

All the participants showed increasing cognitive impairment and functional deterioration over the 2-year period of evaluation (p < 0.05). However, a faster worsening was not observed as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown condition. In fact, the statistical significance observed between the two study groups for daily life activities showed that the worsening was even lesser in the group evaluated under the lockdown condition.

Conclusion

Medium-term effects of COVID-19 lockdown could not involve an acceleration of the cognitive decline in MCI-AD patients in a 2-year evaluation period. In addition, the least worsening observed for daily living activities in the case group was probably due to the change in routines. Therefore, the common assumption of cognitive worsening of AD progression due to the lockdown in comparison with normal disease progression was not demonstrated in this study, at least for MCI-AD cases. However, more longitudinal studies are required to evaluate long-term effects in these patients.

Dinakaran D, Manjunatha N, Naveen Kumar C, Suresh BM (2020) Neuropsychiatric aspects of COVID-19 pandemic: a selective review. Asian J Psychiatr 53:102188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102188CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Numbers K, Brodaty H (2021) The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with dementia. Nat Rev Neurol 17:69–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-00450-zCrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Saqib MAN, Siddiqui S, Qasim M et al (2020) Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on patients with chronic diseases. Diabetes Metab Syndr 14:1621–1623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsx.2020.08.028CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Ghanem J, Colicchio B, Andrès E et al (2021) Lockdown effect on elderly nutritional health. J Clin Med 10:5052. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10215052CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Verhagen IE, van Casteren DS, de Vries LS, Terwindt GM (2021) Effect of lockdown during COVID-19 on migraine: a longitudinal cohort study. Cephalalgia 41:865–870. https://doi.org/10.1177/0333102420981739CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Manca R, de Marco M, Venneri A (2020) The impact of COVID-19 infection and enforced prolonged social isolation on neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults with and without dementia: a review. Front Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.585540CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Altieri M, Santangelo G (2021) The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on caregivers of people with dementia. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 29:27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2020.10.009CrossRefPubMed

Toniolo S, Scarioni M, di Lorenzo F et al (2021) Dementia and COVID-19, a bidirectional liaison: risk factors, biomarkers, and optimal health care. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 82:883–898. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-210335CrossRefPubMed

Xia X, Wang Y, Zheng J (2021) COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s Disease: how one crisis worsens the other. Transl Neurodegener 10:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40035-021-00237-2CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

10.

Lazzari C, Rabottini M (2022) COVID-19, loneliness, social isolation and risk of dementia in older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relevant literature. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract 26:196–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/13651501.2021.1959616CrossRefPubMed

11.

Suárez-González A, Rajagopalan J, Livingston G, Alladi S (2021) The effect of COVID-19 isolation measures on the cognition and mental health of people living with dementia: a rapid systematic review of one year of quantitative evidence. EClinicalMedicine 39:101047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101047CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Tsapanou A, Papatriantafyllou JD, Yiannopoulou K et al (2021) The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people with mild cognitive impairment/dementia and on their caregivers. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 36:583–587. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5457CrossRefPubMed

13.

Soria Lopez JA, González HM, Léger GC (2019) Alzheimer’s disease. pp 231–255

14.

Aguirre E, Woods RT, Spector A, Orrell M (2013) Cognitive stimulation for dementia: a systematic review of the evidence of effectiveness from randomised controlled trials. Ageing Res Rev 12:253–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2012.07.001CrossRefPubMed

15.

Hsiao Y-H, Chang C-H, Gean P-W (2018) Impact of social relationships on Alzheimer’s memory impairment: mechanistic studies. J Biomed Sci 25:3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12929-018-0404-xCrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

16.

Lara E, Caballero FF, Rico-Uribe LA et al (2019) Are loneliness and social isolation associated with cognitive decline? Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 34:1613–1622. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5174CrossRefPubMed

17.

Ávila-Villanueva M, Gómez-Ramírez J, Ávila J, Fernández-Blázquez MA (2022) Loneliness as risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease. Curr Aging Sci 15:293–296. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874609815666220304195049CrossRefPubMed

18.

Butler TR, Ariwodola OJ, Weiner JL (2014) The impact of social isolation on HPA axis function, anxiety-like behaviors, and ethanol drinking. Front Integr Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2013.00102CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

19.

Aisen PS, Cummings J, Jack CR et al (2017) On the path to 2025: understanding the Alzheimer’s Disease continuum. Alzheimers Res Ther 9:60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-017-0283-5CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

20.

Chen Z-C, Liu S, Gan J et al (2021) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia with lewy bodies in China: a 1-year follow-up study. Front Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.711658CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

21.

Gan J, Liu S, Wu H et al (2021) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. Front Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.703481CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

22.

Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR (1975) Mini-mental state. J Psychiatr Res 12:189–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6CrossRefPubMed

23.

Morris JC (1997) Clinical dementia rating: a reliable and valid diagnostic and staging measure for dementia of the Alzheimer type. Int Psychogeriatr 9:173–176. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610297004870CrossRefPubMed

24.

Pfeffer RI, Kurosaki TT, Harrah CH et al (1982) Measurement of functional activities in older adults in the community. J Gerontol 37:323–329. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/37.3.323CrossRefPubMed

25.

Pedrosa H, de Sa A, Guerreiro M et al (2010) Functional evaluation distinguishes MCI patients from healthy elderly people—the ADCS/MCI/ADL scale. J Nutr Health Aging 14:703–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-010-0102-1CrossRefPubMed

26.

Randolph C, Tierney MC, Mohr E, Chase TN (1998) The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS): preliminary clinical Validity. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 20:310–319. https://doi.org/10.1076/jcen.20.3.310.823CrossRefPubMed

27.

Tsatali M, Moraitou D, Poptsi E et al (2021) Are there any cognitive and behavioral changes potentially related to quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in people with mild cognitive impairment and AD dementia? A longitudinal study. Brain Sci 11:1165. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091165CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

28.

López-Cuevas R, Baquero-Toledo M, Cuevas-Jiménez A et al (2020) Valor pronóstico de los biomarcadores licuorales en el deterioro cognitivo leve debido a enfermedad de Alzheimer. Neurologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nrl.2020.07.026CrossRefPubMed

29.

Blom ES, Giedraitis V, Zetterberg H et al (2009) Rapid progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease in subjects with elevated levels of tau in cerebrospinal fluid and the APOE ε4/ε4 genotype. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 27:458–464. https://doi.org/10.1159/000216841CrossRefPubMed

30.

Barguilla A, Fernández-Lebrero A, Estragués-Gázquez I et al (2020) Effects of COVID-19 pandemic confinement in patients with cognitive impairment. Front Neurol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2020.589901CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

31.

Soldevila-Domenech N, Forcano L, Boronat A et al (2021) Effects of COVID-19 home confinement on mental health in individuals with increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. J Alzheimer’s Dis 79:1015–1021. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-201408CrossRef

32.

Balanzá-Martínez V, Kapczinski F, de Azevedo CT et al (2021) The assessment of lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic using a multidimensional scale. Rev Psiquiatr Salud Ment 14:16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpsm.2020.07.003CrossRef

33.

Smallfield S, Heckenlaible C (2017) Effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions to enhance occupational performance for adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and related major neurocognitive disorders: a systematic review. Am J Occup Ther 71:7105180010p1-7105180010p9. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.024752CrossRefPubMed

34.

Lara B, Carnes A, Dakterzada F et al (2020) Neuropsychiatric symptoms and quality of life in Spanish patients with Alzheimer’s disease during the COVID-19 lockdown. Eur J Neurol 27:1744–1747. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14339CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Title: Assessment of COVID-19 lockdown effect on early Alzheimer Disease progression
Authors: Carmen Peña-Bautista
Lourdes Álvarez-Sánchez
Inés Ferrer-Cairols
Lorena García-Vallés
Miguel Baquero
Consuelo Cháfer-Pericás
Publication date: 28-07-2023
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: COVID-19
Dementia
Dementia
Published in: Journal of Neurology / Issue 10/2023
Print ISSN: 0340-5354
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1459
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-023-11899-5

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Assessment of COVID-19 lockdown effect on early Alzheimer Disease progression

Abstract

Introduction

Objective

Methodology

Results

Conclusion

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Introduction

Objective

Methodology

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 10/2023

Characterizing long-COVID brain fog: a retrospective cohort study

Establishing normative data for the evaluation of cognitive performance in Huntington’s disease considering the impact of gender, age, language, and education

Risk of breakthrough COVID-19 after vaccination among people with multiple sclerosis on disease-modifying therapies

Neurological symptoms after COVID-19 vaccination: a report on the clinical presentation of the first 50 patients

Functional connectivity modifications in monoaminergic circuits occur in fatigued MS patients treated with fampridine and amantadine

Synergistic effects of vagus nerve stimulation and antiseizure medication