A recent pre-print posted on the SSRN website (06/02/2024) examined the relationship between COVID-19 infection and the increased likelihood of older adults developing new-onset dementia (NOD). This review primarily aimed to investigate the potential role of COVID-19 in leading to NOD among older adults aged 60 years and older over various time intervals.
Our review incorporated 11 studies, encompassing 939,824 post-COVID-19 cases and 6,765,117 controls. The overall pooled analysis revealed a significant link between COVID-19 infection and an increased risk of NOD. Patients with severe COVID-19, as classified by the American Thoracic Society guidelines, were significantly much more prone to developing NOD than those with non-severe infections. Cognitive impairment was nearly twice as likely in COVID-19 survivors compared to those uninfected.
These findings showed that COVID-19 infection may be linked to a higher risk of NOD in recovered old adults at the subacute and chronic stages following COVID-19 diagnosis. This risk appears to be on par with that associated with other respiratory infections.
The full article can be accessed here.