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Título

Impact of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic on patients with Alzheimer's Disease: a retrospective and evolutionary analysis of neuropsychiatric aspects

Resumo

Introduction: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that manifests as a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Such patients are at greater risk not only of contracting COVID-19, but of increased physical and psychological suffering from the pandemic. Several studies carried out during this period showed the negative biopsychosocial consequences of isolation measures. Objective: Evaluate neuropsychiatric conditions in AD outpatients in Tertiary hospital during covid-19 pandemic from 2018 to 2022. Methodology: A retrospective cohort of 74 AD patients treated at a tertiary hospital in Fortaleza was carried out, from 2018 to February 2022. Assessments were performed that sought to identify and characterize neuropsychiatric symptoms. The evolution of the data in relation to the beginning of the pandemic was recorded as: before (2018 to 2019), after (2020 to 2021/22) and during the transition to the beginning of the pandemic (2019 to 2020). The annual evolution was then compared: 2018 to 2019 versus 2020 to 2021/22; 2018 to 2019 versus 2019 to 2020; and 2019 to 2020 versus 2020 to 2021/22. Results: We observed, when comparing 2018 with 2021/22, an increase in all neuropsychiatric symptoms evaluated. Hallucinations ranged from 14.9% to 35.1%; depressive symptoms from 20.3% to 37.8%; and anxious symptoms from 35.1% to 58.1%. The two most prevalent neuropsychiatric symptoms in 2021/22 were anxious (58.1%) and depressive (37.8%) symptoms. As for the sleep changes, we observed an increase, between 2018-2021/22, in insomnia (from 17.6% to 40.5%); and hypersomnolence (from 0% to 13.5%). Conclusion: The social isolation provided by the covid-19 pandemic led to the worsening of neuropsychiatric disorders.