Alzheimer’s and Dementia Disease Fatalities Increased During COVID-19 Pandemic

According to a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on October 12, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused just two-thirds of the excess fatalities during the first 5-months of the outbreak in the USA.

The balance of the excess fatalities was related to the indirect effects of the disease on older Americans suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Mortality rates for Alzheimer's disease/dementia increased twice, between weeks ending March 21 and April 11, 2020, and between weeks ending June 6 and July 25, 2020, the latter coinciding with the summer surge of SARS-CoV-2 cases in sunbelt states of the USA.