Mortality Risk within 14 Days after Coronavirus Disease 2019 Diagnosis in Dementia Patients: A Nationwide Analysis

The study evaluated the increased mortality risk within 14 days of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis in dementia patients.

This retrospective study was conducted from February to April 2020 using the COVID-19 patients' database from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The risk factors for early death within 14 days were determined using generalized logistic regression performed in a stepwise manner. Dementia patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were used for the study. The propensity score-matched cohort was included as controls. The differences in mortality within 14 days after COVID-19 diagnosis between the dementia patients and controls were evaluated.

We enrolled 5,349 COVID-19 patients from the database; 224 had dementia as comorbidity. The mortality rate within 14 days after COVID-19 diagnosis in dementia patients and the controls was 23.7% versus 1.7%, respectively, before propensity score matching (PSM) (p < 0.001), and 23.7% versus 9.2% after PSM (p < 0.001). The hazard ratio (HR) for mortality within 14 days in COVID-19 patients with dementia was significant even after PSM (HR 5.104, 95% confidence interval 2.889-5.673, p < 0.001). The survival curve of dementia patients was steeply inclined within 14 days after COVID-19 diagnosis, resulting in 70.7% of all deaths in dementia patients.

COVID-19 patients with dementia had a higher risk of early death within 14 days. Thus, prompt intervention is necessary for dementia patients after COVID-19 diagnosis.