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. 2024;98(2):691-698.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-231310.

Impact of the Pandemic Time on the Mental Health of People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers in Brazil and Chile: One-Year Follow-Up

Loreto Olavarría  1   2   3   4 , Paulo Caramelli  5 , José Lema  1 , Caíssa Bezerra de Andrade  5 , Alejandra Pinto  6 , Lílian Viana Dos Santos Azevedo  5 , Daniela Thumala  1   7 , Maria Carolina Santos Vieira  8 , Adriana Peredo Rossetti  8 , Alana Barroso Generoso  8 , Karoline Carvalho Carmona  5 , Walter Sepúlveda-Loyola  9 , Ludmilla Aparecida Cardoso Pinto  5 , Maira Tonidandel Barbosa  5   8 , Andrea Slachevsky  1   2   6   10
Affiliations

Impact of the Pandemic Time on the Mental Health of People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers in Brazil and Chile: One-Year Follow-Up

Loreto Olavarría et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2024.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies reported the negative impact of social isolation on mental health in people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers, butlongitudinal studies seem scarcer.

Objective: To describe a one-year follow-up impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwD and their caregivers in both Brazil and Chile.

Methods: This study analyzed the impact of the pandemic on the psychological and physical health of PwD and their family caregivers after one year of follow-up in three outpatient clinics in Brazil (n = 68) and Chile (n = 61).

Results: In both countries, PwD reduced their functional capacity after one year of follow-up (p = 0.017 and p = 0.009; respectively) and caregivers reported worse physical and mental health (p = 0.028 and p = 0.039). Only in Chile, caregivers reported more sadness associated with care (p = 0.001), and reduced time sleeping (p = 0.07).

Conclusions: In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had a long-lasting impact on PwD and their caregivers. However, it is essential to acknowledge that the inherent progression of dementia itself may also influence changes observed over a year.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; COVID-19; behavioral symptoms; caregiver; dementia; follow-up studies.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Andrea Slachevsky and Paulo Caramelli are Editorial Board Members of this journal but were not involved in the peer-review process nor had access to any information regarding its peer-review.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of participants included in the follow-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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