Hyderabad: Even long after recovery from Covid 19 infection, cases of different types of side effects are spotted in the victims. Temporary dementia with memory loss is quite common among these effects. But a recent research has revealed that such elderly people who suffered from corona infection have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease even a year after recovery.
Elderly people may be at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease even a year after recovery from COVID-19 infection. In particular, this risk can be seen relatively higher in women 85 years of age and older. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine recently did this research to know the connection between Covid 19 and Alzheimer's.
The research said that although more research is needed about whether Covid 19 infection can cause Alzheimer's or whether Alzheimer's sufferers are more prone to infection. But this research has definitely confirmed that there is a relationship between these two diseases.
What does research say:
This research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, states that older people who suffered from Covid 19 infection have twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Research co-author and Professor Dr. Pamela Davis has said in the conclusion of the research that factors associated with Alzheimer's disease cause cognitive impairment in a person. In such a situation, acute inflammation and effects on the nervous system and brain can increase the risk of Alzheimer's.
The results of some other related research have also been analyzed in this study. It is worth noting that in the year 2021, the results of another research concluded that people with pre-dementia have a higher risk of getting Covid 19 infection, hospitalization due to it, and even death.
How did the research happen?
For this study, the researchers used the TriNetX analytics platform under which clinical data was collected and analyzed from electronic health records of more than 95 million people who made inpatient and outpatient visits to about 70 health organizations in 50 states. Researchers included 6.2 million adults aged 65 and over who had received medical treatment. The researchers divided the participants into two groups, one group consisted of people who were infected between February 2020 and May 2021, while the other group consisted of people who weren't infected during this period.
Data of participants in both groups was analyzed in different age groups (65 to 74, 75 to 84, and 85 years and older), gender and a number of other factors. The researchers also conducted a "Kaplan-Meier analysis" of participants to estimate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within a year of recovery from COVID-19.
Nearly double the risk of Alzheimer's disease
The research found that the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within a year in older people who had a COVID-19 infection was 50 to 80% higher than the other group. The research also revealed that the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in older people almost doubled (0.35% to 0.68%) in one year of recovery from COVID-19. This risk was highest in women 85 years of age and older.
Dr Pamela Davis says that although it is difficult to say even after research that Covid 19 infection can cause an increase in the effects of Alzheimer's disease, but it cannot be denied that these two conditions are the same. Triggers for others may play a role, so more research needs to be done to know all kinds of links between COVID 19 and Alzheimer's disease and related factors.
