COVID-19 y adultos mayores con deterioro cognitivo: ¿puede influir el aislamiento social en la enfermedad?

INTRODUCTION: In Argentina, the quality of care that elderly subjects with dementia living in the community received has been deeply affected by COVID-19 epidemic. Our objective was to study to what extend mandatory quarantine imposed due to COVID-19 had affected behavioral symptoms in subjects with dementia after the first 8 weeks of quarantine. METHODS: Relatives of 119 patients with Alzheimer-type Dementia or related disorders living in the community were invited to participate anonymously and voluntarily in an exploratory, cross-sectional and synchronous survey. Characteristics of people with dementia and their caregivers were analyzed with descriptive statistics using the chi-square tests, P<.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Mean age: 81.16 (±7.03), 35% of the subjects had more than 85 years of age. Diagnosis were 67% Alzheimer's dementia and 26% mixed Alzheimer's disease. Stages were 34.5% mild cases, 32% intermediate stage, and 33% severe cases as per Clinical dementia Rating score. In 67% of the sample, a family member was the main caregiver. Important findings were increased anxiety (43% of the sample), insomnia (28% of the subjects), depression (29%), worsening gait disturbance (41%), and increase use of psychotropics to control behavioral symptoms. Behavioral symptoms were more prevalent in subjects with mild dementia compared to subjects with severe dementia. Rehabilitation services had been discontinued in most subjects due to the quarantine. COVID-19 confinement increased stress caregiver (t = -8.657, P<.001). CONCLUSION: We concluded from our analysis that during COVID-19 epidemic there was a deterioration of behavioral symptoms in our population of elderly dementia subjects living in the community. Perhaps, our findings are related to a combination of social isolation, lack of outpatient rehabilitation services, and increased stress of family caregivers. It is necessary to develop a plan of action to help dementia subjects deal with the increased stress that this epidemic imposed on them.