COVID-19 Infection in Older Individuals Increases Their Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease by 50-80%

COVID-19 can cause serious symptoms in many patients, and these symptoms can often persist for several weeks or even months. Unfortunately, for millions of Americans who have contracted and recovered from COVID-19, this isn’t the end of the story. Since the early days of the pandemic, researchers have been highly interested in discovering the long-term effects of COVID-19 that persist well after the virus itself is gone – and they’ve made a number of alarming findings along the way.

The latest of these findings of a new study shows that COVID-19 infection in older individuals increases their risk for Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 80%. This newest risk joins a long list of long-term health consequences already associated with COVID-19.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia and is a progressive disease that causes brain cells and brain cell connections to degenerate and die. This leads to memory loss, confusion, and the loss of other important mental functions. Alzheimer’s is ultimately a fatal condition, and Alzheimer’s disease is currently the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. 90% of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are over the age of 65 (if the disease occurs before the age of 65, it is known as early-onset Alzheimer’s disease).

Research had already identified prior viral infections as one factor associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease. It was then no real surprise to find that COVID-19 infection increased Alzheimer’s risk as well.

The Link Between COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s

In a study published last month in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease researchers examined data from more than 6 million patients aged 65 and older. They compared patients who had contracted COVID-19 to a control group of patients who had not and found that patients who’d been infected with COVID-19 were 50-80% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease within a year.

Within a year of contracting COVID-19, 0.68% of patients in the study had developed Alzheimer’s disease. The control group of patients that had never contracted COVID-19, meanwhile, developed Alzheimer’s disease at a rate of 0.35%.

As for the exact link between COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say that they still aren’t sure whether COVID-19 infection triggers new development of Alzheimer’s disease or simply accelerates the disease’s emergence.

“The factors that play into the development of Alzheimer’s disease have been poorly understood, but two pieces considered important are prior infections, especially viral infections, and inflammation,” said the study’s co-author Pamela Davis. “Since infection with SARS-CoV2 has been associated with central nervous system abnormalities including inflammation, we wanted to test whether, even in the short term, COVID could lead to increased diagnoses.”

Their findings were ultimately concerning and suggest that an upswing in Alzheimer’s cases could be on the horizon. “If this increase in new diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease is sustained, the wave of patients with a disease currently without a cure will be substantial, and could further strain our long-term care resources,” Davis said. “Alzheimer’s disease is a serious and challenging disease, and we thought we had turned some of the tide on it by reducing general risk factors such as hypertension, heart disease, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Now, so many people in the U.S. have had COVID and the long-term consequences of COVID are still emerging. It is important to continue to monitor the impact of this disease on future disability.”

Other Symptoms and Risk Factors of Long COVID

An increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease is not the only long-term health consequence that researchers have linked with COVID-19 infection. “Long COVID” is a term that describes a number of post-COVID conditions that can persist long after the infection itself is gone. According to the CDC, the symptoms of long COVID and post-COVID conditions include:

  • Tiredness and fatigue
  • Sleep problems
  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Changes in smell or taste
  • Depression or anxiety
  • Increased risk of diabetes
  • Increased risk of heart disease
  • Increased risk of neurological conditions

These are just a few of the symptoms/risk factors that the CDC associates with long COVID. For the full list, check out this resource from the CDC.

Conclusion

As new research continues to show more and more conditions and risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection, it’s becoming ever more clear just how dangerous this virus still is. In many instances, the severity of post-COVID conditions is directly associated with the severity of the initial illness, which is one reason why preventing severe illnesses via vaccination is so important.

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