TOPLINE:
This was attributed to an increase in known dementia risk factors, including increased alcohol use and a more sedentary lifestyle. This trend persisted into the second year of the pandemic, after social restrictions had eased.
METHODOLOGY:
- In total, 3,140 participants (54% women; mean age, 68 years) in the PROTECT study, a longitudinal aging study in the United Kingdom, completed annual cognitive assessments and self-reported questionnaires related to mental health and lifestyle.
- Investigators analyzed cognition across three time periods: during the year before the pandemic (March 2019 to February 2020), during pandemic year 1 (March 2020 to February 2021), and pandemic year 2 (March 2021 to February 2022).
- Investigators conducted a subanalysis on those with mild cognitive impairment and those with a history of COVID-19 (n = 752).
TAKEAWAY:
- During the first year of the pandemic, when there were societal lockdowns totaling 6 months, significant worsening of executive function and working memory was seen across the entire cohort (effect sizes, 0.15 and 0.51, respectively), in people with mild cognitive impairment (effect sizes, 0.13 and 0.40, respectively), and in those with a previous history of COVID-19 (effect sizes, 0.24 and 0.46, respectively).
- Worsening of working memory was sustained across the whole cohort in the second year of the pandemic after lockdowns were lifted (effect size, 0.47).
- Even after investigators removed data on people with mild cognitive impairment and COVID-19, the decline in executive function (effect size, 0.15; P < .0001) and working memory (effect size, 0.53; P < .0001) persisted.
- Cognitive decline was significantly associated with known risk factors for dementia, such as reduced exercise (P = .0049) and increased alcohol use (P = .049), across the whole cohort, as well as depression (P = .011) in those with a history of COVID-19 and loneliness (P = .0038) in those with mild cognitive impairment.
IN PRACTICE:
Investigators noted that these data add to existing knowledge of long-standing health consequences of COVID-19, especially for older people with memory problems. “On the positive note, there is evidence that lifestyle changes and improved health management can positively influence mental functioning,” study coauthor Dag Aarsland, MD, PhD, professor of old age psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience of King’s College London, said in a press release. “The current study underlines the importance of careful monitoring of people at risk during major events such as the pandemic.”
SOURCE:
The study was led by Anne Corbett, PhD, of University of Exeter, and was published online in The Lancet Healthy Longevity. The research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London and the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre.
LIMITATIONS:
The study relied on self-reported data. In addition, the PROTECT cohort is self-selected and may skew toward participants with higher education levels.
DISCLOSURES:
Dr. Corbett reported receiving funding from the NIHR and grants from Synexus, reMYND, and Novo Nordisk. Other disclosures are noted in the original article.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.