CWRU reseachers find people who contracted COVID-19 are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. (File photo: Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — COVID-19 is an important risk factor for dementia in older adults, say researchers from Case Western Reserve University.

Their study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, reported that people 65 and older who contracted COVID-19 were significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in the year following their COVID diagnosis.

The researchers combed through the anonymous medical records of more than 6 million patients 65 and older who had been treated from February 2020 to May 2021 and had never been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the past.

They found that patients who had COVID-19 were between 50% and 80% more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than those who never got the virus.

Women at least 85 years old had the highest risk.

The nature of the relationship between COVID-19 and dementia remains to be untangled, say the authors.

Another CWRU study has demonstrated that people with dementia are twice as likely to contract COVID-19, and previous research has shown an increase in neurological and inflammatory diseases following COVID-19 infection.

Inflammation is also known to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is not yet clear whether the SARS-CoV2 virus causes the Alzheimer’s dementia, or simply accelerates the course of disease already in progress.

Attempting to understand the connection is important because large increases in Alzheimer’s disease patients could further strain the already overburdened systems of long-term care, said CWRU professor Pamela Davis, one of the study’s co-authors.

“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,” Davis said.

“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.”

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