Covid-19 and the link to an increase in Dementia cases in the future
The worldwide impact of Covid-19 has now seen deaths rise to 1 million and serious issues such as strokes and heart attacks reaching unprecedented levels in people that have contracted the infection. With cases rising daily and people at all ages being affected by the infection, long term conditions such as dementia are set to increase and reach epic proportions within the next 20 years.
Worldwide research is starting to focus on the neurological issues of Covid-19 and long-term impact on the brain. We have all recognised the signs and symptoms of Covid-19 such as loss of taste and smell, confusion and respiratory issues. Loss of Smell and taste could indicate that the virus entered the body through the olfactory bulb which is located just above the nose and communicates information about smell to the brain. Initially thought to be a short-term symptom, we are starting to find that this loss is continuing throughout the individual’s illness and even into their recovery. This could indicate that longer term damage is being caused by the virus and in certain cases, they have found traces of the virus in brain cells. People are not recognising that the virus is causing tissue and organ damage and therefore longer-term issues may be linked to this in the future.
We are all aware of the respiratory issues surrounding Covid-19 and a simple way to explain the issues caused by this is ‘oxygen starvation’. This lack of oxygen has massive implications for the brain and issues such as delirium, multiple organ failure and even coma are seen in severe cases. Lack of oxygen to the brain has wide ranging implications for the future of our brains and in some cases could cause irreversible effects for the person in the future.
One of the biggest and most worrying effects that Covid-19 has on the brain is caused through blood clotting. We are starting to see unprecedented levels of heart attacks and strokes for people that have contracted the infection. Covid-19 impacts on the blood-clotting system of patients and therefore we are seeing that a higher rate of strokes and heart attacks are being seen in people who have the infection. The clots start deep in the lungs and cause a stroke if they travel through and block an artery. It is recognised that a high proportion of people with moderate to severe Covid-19 are experiencing blood clotting issues which again starve the brain of oxygen and cause long term damage.
Any damage to the brain will impact us in later life and the high number of cases that people of covid-19 middle age population is expected to have a ripple effect on us as we move into older age. We need to start to prepare for an increasing dementia population due to this disease and put provisions in place now for the impact that this will have on our care system in the future. Predictions are being made that the covid-19 crises that is happening now will mean that cases of Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are going to add a 3rd onto existing future statistics for the dementia. This means that our future generations may see a care system that is under resourced and at broken if we do not start planning for the future now.
The younger generations need to understand that what they do now will have a change their lives forever in the future. If they do not follow the rules, protect themselves, protect others then their future landscape.
Written by Glenn Knight Creator Dementia Interpreters Course.