Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Dementia: The Survey for Dementia Patients in COVID-19 Crisis.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis that began last year, has had a disruptive impact on our society.1 While the impact has affected society in general, it has affected certain groups of individuals disproportionately. Dementia patients are among the most vulnerable individuals in the society, and the COVID-19 crisis has further worsened their susceptibility. Notably, most of them are elderly patients who are vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and COVID-19 complications.2,3 In order to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, most governments imposed mitigation measures including quarantine and movement restrictions. This confinement significantly limits physical, cognitive, and social activities and has consequently led to the rapid deteriorating of clinical symptoms in dementia patients.4 In addition, confinement is associated with several psychological effects, including depression, irritability, and anger, which are likely to have a negative impact on the already burdened caregivers both at home and nursing facilities. The Korean Dementia Association has been very concerned about the consequences of the pandemic on dementia patients and their families and has come up with two measures aimed at developing a strong support system; 1, developing care guidelines for dementia patients and caregivers, and 2, Conducting a survey to identify the extent of COVID-19 impact in dementia patients. The guidelines have already been published,5 herein, we report the findings of the survey.