In a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, American researchers report that people over the age of 65 who contracted Covid-19 were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in the year following diagnosis. And the highest risk was found in women over 85.
As the Alzheimer’s Foundation recently explained, “Covid-19 is likely to cause acute neurological disorders in healthy individuals and be involved in the long-term development of neurodegenerative diseases“. A misconception by University researchers Reserve of Western cases the Cleveland.
For their work, the scientists examined the medical records of more than 6 million people who had not been affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They then divided the participants into 2 groups depending on whether or not they had contracted Covid-19.
The inflammatory track
“Older people infected with Covid-19 had a higher risk (up to 50% -80% higher than the control group) of developing Alzheimer’s disease one year later“, The authors warn. who remember that the “SARS-CoV2 has previously been associated with central nervous system abnormalities, including inflammation”. This could explain this causal link between coronavirus and neurodegenerative disease.
However, researchers still don’t know if Covid-19 actually causes Alzheimer’s disease or if it accelerates cognitive decline in predisposed people. Further work will therefore be required.
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