Title: Dementia Related Mortality And Morbidity In COVID-19 Patients.

Abstract:

Dementia is said to be solid indicator of COVID-19 related deaths. Elderly population with cognitive decline are especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 infection and are at risk for poorer clinical outcomes and mortality. Some of the contributing factors include their old age, frailty, weakened immunity, comorbidities and chronic infections. Pathophysiology of dementia related high mortality in COVID-19 patients is largely unknown. Chronic inflammation and aberrant immune responses in the host can result in long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms. Elderly individuals have changes in their immune system.

These changes include

(i) decline in neutrophil induced phagocytosis;

(ii) decreased superoxide anion

(iii) reduced chemotactic activity of macrophages and phagocytosis; and

(iv) lower peripheral pool of B and T cells, thus inability to fight against new antigen.

Patients with dementia have ApoE e4 genotype which modulates anti-inflammatory phenotypes, therefore a patient with one or both copies of ApoE4, is prone to a more severe COVID-19 infection. These patients also have higher peripheral blood pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines in addition to amyloid protein in their cerebrospinal fluid. Since patients with dementia have a persistent inflammatory state, they are at a higher risk than people without dementia. Finally, people with mild cognitive impairment, are unable or unwilling to follow the general public health measures such as facemasks, hand hygiene due to the nature of their intellectual deterioration. There is a need for more intensive and more frequent monitoring for elderly people especially those with dementia living in facilities. Further research is warranted.

Biography:

Sana Javed is a graduate from Nishtar Medical University, Pakistan. She is currently residing in the USA and is an aspiring psychiatrist. She is leading the psychiatry research team at Larkin Community Hospital, FL. She has multiple international publications and 1 book chapter. She has been serving as editorial board member of several reputed journals since 2020.