%0 Journal Article
%T The risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults diagnosed with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
%A Shrestha A
%A Chen R
%A Kunasekaran M
%A Honeyman D
%A Notaras A
%A Sutton B
%A Quigley A
%A MacIntyre CR
%J Ageing Res Rev
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Aug 8
%M 39127446
%F 11.788
%R 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102448
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Cognitive impairment can be caused by infections with various pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. Research has yet to determine the true incidence and course of cognitive impairment in older adults following COVID-19. Furthermore, research has theorised that COVID-19 is associated with dementia progression and diagnosis but this association has yet to be fully described.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>A systematic review was registered in Prospero and conducted on the databases PubMed, Embase, Ovid, CENTRAL and Cochrane Library. Studies reporting cognitive impairment and dementia outcomes in post-acute and post-COVID-19 patients aged ≥65 years, and which included control data, were included in this review.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>15,124 articles were identified by the search strategy. After eliminating duplicate titles and completing title, abstracts and full-text review, 18 studies were included comprising of 412,957 patients with COVID-19 (46.63% male) and 411,929 patients without COVID-19 (46.59% male). The overall mean Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score in COVID-19 patients was 23.34 out of 30 (95% CI [22.24, 24.43]). indicating cognitive impairment. The overall proportion of patients identified as having new onset cognitive impairment was 65% (95% CI [44, 81]). Subgroup analyses indicated that time since infection significantly improves overall MoCA score and reduces proportion of patients with cognitive impairment.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>This study indicates that cognitive impairment may be an important sequela of COVID-19. Further research with adequate sample sizes is warranted regarding COVID-19's association with new-onset dementia and dementia progression, and the effect of repeat infections. There is a need for development of diagnostic and management protocols for COVID-19 patients with cognitive impairment.