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. 2020;76(1):41-47.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-200604.

The Effects of Confinement on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease During the COVID-19 Crisis

Claire Boutoleau-Bretonnière  1   2 , Hélene Pouclet-Courtemanche  1   2 , Aurelie Gillet  1 , Amelie Bernard  1   2 , Anne Laure Deruet  1   2 , Ines Gouraud  1   2 , Aurelien Mazoue  2 , Estelle Lamy  1   2 , Laetitia Rocher  1   2 , Dimitrios Kapogiannis  3 , Mohamad El Haj  4   5   6
Affiliations

The Effects of Confinement on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease During the COVID-19 Crisis

Claire Boutoleau-Bretonnière et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020.

Abstract

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, apathy, agitation, and hallucinations, are frequent in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their prevalence tends to increase with external stressors.

Objective: We offer the first investigation of the effects of confinement during the COVID-19 crisis on neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with AD.

Methods: We contacted caregivers of 38 patients with AD who were confined to their homes for nearly two months and asked them to report whether patients experienced any change in neuropsychiatric symptoms during, compared to before, the confinement and rate its severity and impact on themselves using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire.

Results: Among the 38 patients, only 10 demonstrated neuropsychiatric changes during the confinement. Cognitive function of these 10 patients, assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination, was worse than that of patients who did not demonstrate neuropsychiatric changes. Interestingly, among the 10 patients with neuropsychiatric changes, the duration of confinement significantly correlated with the severity of symptoms as well as with their caregivers' distress.

Discussion: The confinement seems to impact neuropsychiatric symptomatology in AD patients with low baseline cognitive function.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; COVID-19; confinement; neuropsychiatric symptoms.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Medium strength correlations are observed between the duration of confinement and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms (A) and their care givers’ distress (B) for the 10 AD patients who experienced neuropsychiatric changes during the confinement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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