Old Adults Who Contracted COVID-19 Are at Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease [Research]

The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is found in older people who contracted COVID-19, a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease pointed out.

Experts said Alzheimer's is a severe and challenging disease that must be closely monitored, especially since many became infected with COVID-19.

According to the study published in Medical Xpress, age is also considered an essential factor in Alzheimer's disease. At an alarming rate, older adults, 65 years old and older, are at risk. Women at least 85 years old are prone.

The National Institute on Aging said the term Alzheimer's disease came from Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who studied 1906 the unusual changes in a woman's brain tissue. In the examination, Dr. Alzheimer discovered that the woman's brain had abnormal clumps and tangles. Symptoms were language problems and memory loss were symptoms.

What is alarming about the disease is that it slowly damages memory and the brain system. Symptoms first appear in the mid-60s, according to the National Institute for Aging.

In addition, reports show that more than 6 million Americans, 65 years old and older, may have Alzheimer's, which ranks the disease sixth as the leading cause of death in the United States.

Research findings

Alz by PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images

The study reviewed and analyzed anonymous electronic health records. In total, they had 6.2 million adults, from 65 years old and older, living in the United States. They looked into the patients who received medical treatments from February 2020 to May 2021 and with no prior diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Following infection with COVID-19, the study found that the risk of Alzheimer's disease in older people increased from 0.35% to 0.68% over a year.

Moreover, the researchers explained that it is still unclear how or whether the COVID-19 virus causes to trigger the development of Alzheimer's disease among old adults.

The study's author, Pamela Davis, said that the factors in the development of Alzheimer's disease are poorly understood. She added that the two pieces important are prior infections (especially viral infections) and inflammation.

Davis is also a distinguished University Professor and The Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

Davis explained that the infection of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with the central nervous system, and her team wanted to find out if COVID-19 could lead to increased diagnoses.

On the other hand, as they analyzed the 6.2 million anonymous patients, they divided them into two groups

People who contracted the COVID-19 virus during the said period.
People who had no documented cases of COVID-19 virus.

Then, the research said that 400,000 individuals were in the COVID-19 study group, and 5.8 million were on the side of the non-infected group.

Also Read: Lonely People at Greater Risk of Developing Alzheimer's

Furthermore, Davis revealed that the challenging Alzheimer's disease, they thought they turned some of the tides by addressing the general risk factors (hypertension, heart disease, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle).

However, following records of people in the United States with a history of COVID-19 infection, experts must closely monitor the effects of Alzheimer's disease on humans