Association between COVID-19 infection and new-onset dementia in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Publication date: Dec 15, 2024

The relationship between COVID-19 infection and a possible increased likelihood of older adults developing new-onset dementia (NOD) remains elusive. A thorough search was performed across several databases including MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, medRxiv, and PQDT Global for studies published in English from January 2020 to December 2023. Only original investigations exploring the link between COVID-19 infection and NOD were selected for inclusion. We assessed the risk of developing NOD, using Risk Ratio (RR) for measurement. Control groups were categorized as: (i) a non-COVID cohort with other respiratory infections [control group (C1)]; and (ii) a non-COVID cohort with otherwise unspecified health status [control group (C2)]. Follow-up periods were divided into intervals of 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post-COVID. 11 studies (involving 939,824 post-COVID-19 survivors and 6,765,117 controls) were included in the review. Across a median observation period of 12 months post-COVID, the overall incidence of NOD was about 1. 82% in the COVID-infected group, compared to 0. 35% in the non-COVID-infected group. The overall pooled meta-analysis showed a significantly increased NOD risk among COVID-19 older adult survivors compared to non-COVID-19 controls (RR = 1. 58, 95% CI 1. 21-2. 08). Similar increased NOD risks were observed in subgroup analyses restricted to an observational period of 12 months (RR = 1. 56, 95% CI 1. 21-2. 01), as well as in five studies that employed propensity score matching to sufficiently and effectively control for multiple confounding covariates (RR = 1. 46, 95% CI 1. 10-1. 94). COVID-19 group and C1 group shared a comparably increased risk of developing NOD (overall RR = 1. 13, 95% CI 0. 92-1. 38). Under normal circumstances, we believe that COVID-19 infection is likely to be a risk factor for developing NOD in older adults over time. While the increased NOD risk due to COVID-19 infection appears to be similar to that associated with other respiratory infections, it warrants and necessitates investigation with longer observations.

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Concepts Keywords
December Aged
Dementia Alzheimer’s disease
Medline COVID-19
New COVID-19
Dementia
Dementia
Humans
Incidence
Meta‐analysis
Older adults
Respiratory infection
Review
Risk Factors
SARS-CoV-2

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH COVID-19
disease MESH infection
disease MESH dementia
disease MESH respiratory infections
disease MESH health status
disease MESH Long Covid
pathway REACTOME Reproduction
disease MESH Alzheimer’s disease
disease MESH cognitive impairment
disease MESH brain fog
drug DRUGBANK Hexocyclium
disease MESH inflammation
disease MESH cerebral ischemia
disease MESH thrombus
disease MESH hypoxia
disease MESH vascular dementia
drug DRUGBANK Indoleacetic acid
disease IDO intervention
disease IDO algorithm
disease MESH sequelae
disease IDO history
disease IDO country
disease MESH Lewy Body dementia
pathway KEGG Influenza A
disease MESH bacterial infection
disease MESH morbidities
disease IDO quality
drug DRUGBANK Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
drug DRUGBANK Trimebutine
disease IDO process
disease MESH TICS
drug DRUGBANK Trestolone
drug DRUGBANK Ethanol
drug DRUGBANK Esomeprazole
drug DRUGBANK Coenzyme M
disease MESH influenza
disease MESH Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
disease MESH pneumonia
disease MESH bacterial pneumonia
disease IDO susceptible population
drug DRUGBANK Oxygen
drug DRUGBANK Medical air
disease MESH causality
disease MESH syndrome
disease MESH neurodegenerative diseases
pathway REACTOME Neurodegenerative Diseases
disease MESH inflammatory bowel diseases
disease MESH metabolic syndrome
disease MESH myocardial infarction
drug DRUGBANK Guanosine
disease MESH psychiatric disorder
disease MESH critically ill
disease MESH viral infections
disease IDO replication
drug DRUGBANK (S)-Des-Me-Ampa
disease MESH educational level

Original Article

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