Correlations between COVID-19 and burden of dementia: An ecological study and review of literature
Mahmoud Reza Azarpazhooh, Amin Amiri, Negar Morovatdar, Sandy Steinwender, Amir Rezaeı Ardanı, Nawaf Yassi, José Biller, Saverio Stranges, Masoud Tokazebani Belasi, Sepideh Kazemi Neya, Bita Khorram, Mohammad Sobhan Sheikh Andalibi, Shahram Arsang‐Jang, Naghmeh Mokhber, Mario Di Napoli
Abstract
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.