Cognitive Impairment Is a Common Comorbidity in Deceased COVID-19 Patients: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

J Alzheimers Dis. 2020;78(4):1367-1372. doi: 10.3233/JAD-200937.

Abstract

We analyzed the frequency of cognitive impairment (CI) in deceased COVID-19 patients at a tertiary hospital in Spain. Among the 477 adult cases who died after admission from March 1 to March 31, 2020, 281 had confirmed COVID-19. CI (21.1% dementia and 8.9% mild cognitive impairment) was a common comorbidity. Subjects with CI were older, tended to live in nursing homes, had shorter time from symptom onset to death, and were rarely admitted to the ICU, receiving palliative care more often. CI is a frequent comorbidity in deceased COVID-19 subjects and is associated with differences in care.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cognitive impairment; dementia; morbidity; mortality.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / mortality
  • COVID-19 / psychology*
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / epidemiology
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / psychology*
  • Comorbidity
  • Female
  • Hospital Mortality
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Palliative Care
  • Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Spain / epidemiology
  • Young Adult