Scientists from the University of Missouri found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia have a higher risk of developing dementia than those with other types of pneumonia.
The research is published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and was conducted by Adnan I. Qureshi et al.
In the study, the team used Cerner Real World Data from 1.4 billion medical encounters prior to July 31, 2021. They selected patients hospitalized with pneumonia for more than 24 hours.
Among 10,403 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, 312 (3%) developed new-onset dementia after recovering, compared to 263 (2.5%) of the 10,403 patients with other types of pneumonia diagnosed with dementia.
The findings suggest a role for screening for cognitive deficits among COVID-19 survivors.
The team says the risk of new-onset dementia was more common in COVID-19 pneumonia patients over the age of 70 in this study.
The type of dementia seen in survivors of COVID-19 infection mainly affects memory, ability to perform everyday tasks and self-regulation.
Language and awareness of time and location remained relatively preserved.
The median time interval between infection and dementia diagnosis was 182 days for COVID-19 patients.
The study only included new onset dementia associated with hospital admission during a short follow-up period.
The team says a further study over longer periods of time would provide a more complete picture and may help to determine the underlying reasons why COVID-19 pneumonia might increase dementia risk.
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