Behavioral symptoms, depression symptoms, and medication use in Michigan nursing home residents with dementia during COVID‐19

BACKGROUND: The COVID‐19 pandemic significantly disrupted nursing home (NH) care, including visitation restrictions, reduced staffing levels, and changes in routine care. These challenges may have led to increased behavioral symptoms, depression symptoms, and central nervous system (CNS)‐active medication use among long‐stay NH residents with dementia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, cross‐sectional study including Michigan long‐stay (≥100 days) NH residents aged ≥65 with dementia based on Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021. Residents with schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome, or Huntington's disease were excluded. Outcomes were the monthly prevalence of behavioral symptoms (i.e., Agitated Reactive Behavior Scale ≥ 1), depression symptoms (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ]—9 ≥ 10, reflecting at least moderate depression), and CNS‐active medication use (e.g., antipsychotics). Demographic, clinical, and facility characteristics were included. Using an interrupted time series design, we compared outcomes over two periods: Period 1: January 1, 2018–February 28, 2020 (pre‐COVID‐19) and Period 2: March 1, 2020–June 30, 2021 (during COVID‐19). RESULTS: We included 37,427 Michigan long‐stay NH residents with dementia. The majority were female, 80 years or older, White, and resided in a for‐profit NH facility. The percent of NH residents with moderate depression symptoms increased during COVID‐19 compared to pre‐COVID‐19 (4.0% vs 2.9%, slope change [SC] = 0.03, p < 0.05). Antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic and opioid use increased during COVID‐19 compared to pre‐COVID‐19 (SC = 0.41, p < 0.001, SC = 0.17, p < 0.001, SC = 0.07, p < 0.05, and SC = 0.24, p < 0.001, respectively). No significant changes in hypnotic use or behavioral symptoms were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Michigan long‐stay NH residents with dementia had a higher prevalence of depression symptoms and CNS active‐medication use during the COVID‐19 pandemic than before. During periods of increased isolation, facility‐level policies to regularly assess depression symptoms and appropriate CNS‐active medication use are warranted.