Comparison of Dementia Patients Admission Rates and Dementia Characteristics Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 2020. There have been significant changes in our lives due to the measures used to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dementia patients are one of the most vulnerable groups who have difficulties in adapting to this situation. Our study aimed to compare the admission rate to the hospital and dementia characteristics of dementia patients in the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic periods. Methods Dementia patients admitted to the neurology outpatient clinic during the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods were included in the study. In these two periods, age, gender, dementia type, stage, age of onset, mini-mental state examination, reason for admission, vitamin B12, vitamin D, folic acid levels, brain imaging, electroencephalogram results were analysed retrospectively. Dementia characteristics and vitamin levels were compared. Results Two hundred and two dementia patients were included in the study. When the reasons for admission to the hospital were examined, the number of applications with the complaint of forgetfulness was highest in the pre-COVID period (53.1%); this rate was 37.8% in the COVID period. Also, 9.5% of patients were admitted for a drug prescription or medication report during the COVID period, while this rate was 1.6% in the pre-COVID period. Brain imaging was performed on 91 patients in the pre-COVID period, while 42 patients underwent imaging in the COVID period. Conclusions Although this study was performed with a limited population, it indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic indirectly affects the clinical conditions of people living with dementia.