The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Distancing on Cognition of Alzheimer's Disease Patients

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation 2022-11, Vol.19 (11), p.973-980
• Main Authors: Joo, Soo Hyun, Hahn, Chang Tae, Lee, Chang Uk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.30773/pi.2022.0179

The risk of rapid cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been recognized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive decline in such patients during the COVID-19 pandemic by evaluating changes in their cognitive measure parameters before and after the pandemic. This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in AD patients during their first visit and one-year regular follow-up for testing cognitive function at the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Changes in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Sum of Box for CDR (CDR-SB) scores were investigated. A time series analysis was performed to determine whether there was a significant difference in the MMSE, CDR, and CDR-SB scores of AD patients in pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. Overall, 130 AD patients aged 60 to 93 years were assessed. Their baseline mean MMSE score was 22.30 which had decreased to 21.08 at the one-year follow-up. Before November 2019, the average CDR differences for one year was 0.06, but after November 2019, it increased to 0.36 (p