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Olavarría L, Caramelli P, Lema J, Andrade CBD, Pinto A, Azevedo LVDS, Thumala D, Vieira MCS, Rossetti AP, Generoso AB, Carmona KC, Sepúlveda-Loyola W, Pinto LAC, Barbosa MT, Slachevsky A. Impact of the Pandemic Time on the Mental Health of People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers in Brazil and Chile: One-Year Follow-Up. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 98:691-698. [PMID: 38427488 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Background Previous studies reported the negative impact of social isolation on mental health in people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers, butlongitudinal studies seem scarcer. Objective To describe a one-year follow-up impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwD and their caregivers in both Brazil and Chile. Methods This study analyzed the impact of the pandemic on the psychological and physical health of PwD and their family caregivers after one year of follow-up in three outpatient clinics in Brazil (n = 68) and Chile (n = 61). Results In both countries, PwD reduced their functional capacity after one year of follow-up (p = 0.017 and p = 0.009; respectively) and caregivers reported worse physical and mental health (p = 0.028 and p = 0.039). Only in Chile, caregivers reported more sadness associated with care (p = 0.001), and reduced time sleeping (p = 0.07). Conclusions In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had a long-lasting impact on PwD and their caregivers. However, it is essential to acknowledge that the inherent progression of dementia itself may also influence changes observed over a year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loreto Olavarría
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile
- Physiopathology Department - Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICBM), Neuroscience and East Neuroscience Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (LANNEC), Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paulo Caramelli
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - José Lema
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile
| | - Caíssa Bezerra de Andrade
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Alejandra Pinto
- Neurology Department, Memory and Neuropsychiatric Center (CMYN), Memory Unit, Hospital del Salvador and Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Lílian Viana Dos Santos Azevedo
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Daniela Thumala
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | | | | | | | - Karoline Carvalho Carmona
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Ludmilla Aparecida Cardoso Pinto
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Maira Tonidandel Barbosa
- Faculdade de Medicina, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Faculdade Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais, Geriatric Medicine, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Andrea Slachevsky
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile
- Physiopathology Department - Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICBM), Neuroscience and East Neuroscience Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (LANNEC), Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Neurology Department, Memory and Neuropsychiatric Center (CMYN), Memory Unit, Hospital del Salvador and Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Medicina, Servicio de Neurología, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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The impact of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with dementia and caregivers. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2022; 34:276-281. [PMID: 35369891 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2022.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Social distancing to limit COVID-19 transmission has led to extensive lifestyle changes, including for people with dementia (PWD). The aim of this study, therefore, was to assess the impact of lockdown on the mental health of PWD and their carers. METHODS Forty-five carers of PWD completed a telephone interview during the baseline assessment of the SOLITUDE study to gather information on life conditions and changes in symptoms of PWD during lockdown. Associations between changes in symptoms of PWD and carers' concerns and mental health were investigated. RESULTS About 44% of carers experienced anxiety and irritability and reported changes in behavioural and cognitive symptoms in PWD. These changes were associated with worse carers' mental health and concerns about faster disease progression (χ2 = 13.542, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION COVID-19-related social isolation has had a negative impact on patients' and carers' mental health. Potential long-term neurocognitive consequences require further investigation.
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Manca R, De Marco M, Colston A, Raymont V, Amin J, Davies R, Kumar P, Russell G, Blackburn DJ, Venneri A. The Impact of Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Symptom Progression in People With Dementia: Findings of the SOLITUDE Study. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:877595. [PMID: 35619615 PMCID: PMC9127264 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.877595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with dementia (PWD) are vulnerable to abrupt changes to daily routines. The lockdown enforced on the 23rd of March 2020 in the UK to contain the expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic limited opportunities for PWD to access healthcare services and socialise. The SOLITUDE study explored the potential long-term effects of lockdown on PWD's symptoms and carers' burden. METHODS Forty-five carers and 36 PWD completed a telephone-based assessment at recruitment (T0) and after 3 (T1) and 6 months (T2). PWD completed measures validated for telephonic evaluations of cognition and depression. Carers completed questionnaires on their burden and on PWD's health and answered a customised interview on symptom changes observed in the initial months of lockdown. Longitudinal changes were investigated for all outcome variables with repeated-measures models. Additional post hoc multiple regression analyses were carried out to investigate whether several objective factors (i.e., demographics and time under social restrictions) and carer-reported symptom changes observed following lockdown before T0 were associated with all outcomes at T0. RESULTS No significant changes were observed in any outcomes over the 6 months of observations. However, post hoc analyses showed that the length of social isolation before T0 was negatively correlated with episodic and semantic memory performance at T0. Carers reporting worsening of neuropsychiatric symptoms and faster disease progression in PWD also reported higher burden. Moreover, carer-reported worsening of cognitive symptoms was associated with poorer semantic memory at T0. CONCLUSION PWD's symptoms and carers' burden remained stable over 6 months of observation. However, the amount of time spent under social restrictions before T0 appears to have had a significant detrimental impact on cognitive performance of patients. In fact, carer-reported cognitive decline during social isolation was consistent with the finding of poorer semantic memory, a domain sensitive to progression in Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the initial stricter period of social isolation had greater detrimental impact on patients and their carers, followed then by a plateau. Future interventions may be designed to maintain an optimal level of social and cognitive engagement for PWD in challenging times, to prevent abrupt worsening of symptoms and associated detrimental consequences on patients' carers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Manca
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
| | - Matteo De Marco
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda Colston
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Vanessa Raymont
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Amin
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.,Memory Assessment and Research Centre, Moorgreen Hospital, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Rhys Davies
- The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Pramod Kumar
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Bracknell, United Kingdom
| | - Gregor Russell
- Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel J Blackburn
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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