There are many forms of dementia. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and vascular dementia are the first and second most common types.
All-cause dementia was associated with increased mortality risk from COVID-19, according to a new University of Wisconsin paper published in the journal
Alzheimer’s & Dementia, but this risk was much lower than what was found in previous studies and was not found in just AD or vascular dementia. However, when discharge to hospice care was included as a mortality equivalent, all-cause dementia, vascular dementia, and AD were predictive of mortality.
“This unique finding suggests that the way we record outcomes in the U.S. may be different than other countries, and mortality estimates in older patients and those with dementia should include discharge to hospice to accurately demonstrate risk,” said lead author and UW Assistant Professor Dr. Adrienne Johnson.
Another key finding was that patients with any form of dementia had longer hospital stays than patients without. Patients with all cause dementia, AD, and vascular dementia were 21, 23, and 54 percent more likely to spend another day in the hospital than patients without dementia.
“ICU admission risk was lower among patients with all-cause and AD, highlighting that patients with dementia receive less intensive lifesaving care,” said Johnson. All findings in this study of 21 health-care systems in the U.S. accounted for variables like other medical conditions, smoking status, demographics, and vaccinations.
While patients with all-cause dementia were less likely to have COVID-19 vaccinations, the difference in mortality/hospice rates were not found to be tied to vaccinations, since not having a vaccination raised risk across all demographics.
The authors suggested future work examine how dementia severity, code status, provider perception of patients with dementia, and hospitalization policies impact COVID-19 related outcomes in patients with, versus without, dementia.
For more research from the COVID EHR Cohort at the University of Wisconsin, click here.
Johnson AL, Chin NA, Piasecki TM, Conner KL, Baker TB, Fiore MC, Slutske WS. COVID-19 Outcomes Among Patients with Dementia and Age Matched Controls who were Hospitalized in 21 U.S. Healthcare Systems. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Online July 29, 2004.