Date of Presentation
5-6-2021 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease caused by β Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which results in memory loss and cognitive decline. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Approximately 50% of those with AD experience some degree of depression during the course of the disease, which has been shown to accelerate functional decline, institutionalization, and even mortality.
Many who cannot care for themselves live in an assisted living facility or retirement home. Since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, people have been urged to social distance in order to decrease the spread of the virus. In an effort to limit the spread of COVID 19 many facilities have prohibited any outside visitations and, in some cases, even limited physical interactions between the residents. Due to these social distancing orders, residents in assisted living facilities have been unable to see their families. As AD causes memory loss, there may be confusion around why families cannot visit. This isolation has caused an increase in depression and anxiety rates among people with AD.
Keywords
COVID-19, social isolation, Alzheimer disease, aged, anxiety, depression
Disciplines
Geriatrics | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nervous System Diseases | Psychiatric and Mental Health | Psychiatry
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Geriatrics Commons, Nervous System Diseases Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Psychiatry Commons
Alzheimer's Patients’ Mental Health during the COVID 19 Pandemic
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease caused by β Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which results in memory loss and cognitive decline. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Approximately 50% of those with AD experience some degree of depression during the course of the disease, which has been shown to accelerate functional decline, institutionalization, and even mortality.
Many who cannot care for themselves live in an assisted living facility or retirement home. Since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, people have been urged to social distance in order to decrease the spread of the virus. In an effort to limit the spread of COVID 19 many facilities have prohibited any outside visitations and, in some cases, even limited physical interactions between the residents. Due to these social distancing orders, residents in assisted living facilities have been unable to see their families. As AD causes memory loss, there may be confusion around why families cannot visit. This isolation has caused an increase in depression and anxiety rates among people with AD.