Hospital-treated infectious diseases and the risk of dementia: a large, multicohort, observational study with a replication cohort
Study suggests severe infections requiring hospital treatment are linked to long-term increased risk of dementia (in primary cohort; n=260,490, adjusted HR 1.48; 95% CI 1.37–1.60; in replication cohort; n=485,708; HR 2.60; 2.38-2.83). This link was not limited to CNS infections.
Source:
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
SPS commentary:
According to an editorial, although this study supports the notion that infection might increase the risk of dementia, the underlying mechanisms are currently unclear, but findings support the inflammation hypothesis, which proposes that systemic inflammation contributes to the development of dementias. It suggests that in this regard, the findings could have important implications for the current COVID-19 pandemic, where patients can present with mental and neurological symptoms at the acute stage of infection; and inflammatory cytokine storms occurring in patients with COVID-19 might cause long-lasting sequelae in the brain. Therefore, more attention should be given to the effects of COVID-19 on long-term cognitive decline later in life, including Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It add that future studies are needed to assess whether prevention of infection and prompt treatment might delay the onset of symptoms in individuals at risk of developing dementias and slow the cognitive decline of those with established dementias.