Correlations between COVID-19 and burden of dementia: An ecological study and review of literature

Azarpazhooh, M. Reza; Amiri, Amin; Morovatdar, Negar; Steinwender, Sandy; Ardani, Amir Rezaei; Yassi, Nawaf; Biller, Jose; Stranges, Saverio; Tokazebani, Masoud; Neya, Sepideh Kazemi; Khorram, Bita; Andalibi, Mohamad Sobhan Sheikh; Arsang-Jang, Shahram; Mokhber, Naghmeh; Di Napoli, Mario

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 and mortality 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.