News briefs

Added burden of young onset Alzheimer disease

People diagnosed with Alzheimer disease at a younger age will experience faster symptom progression than their older counterparts, potentially causing their support systems to fall behind. Research led by Flinders University and published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease looked at 30 existing studies that had investigated the relationship of age of symptom onset with the dementia’s effect on cognition, function or behavioural symptoms. The analysis showed that younger people with Alzheimer disease experience faster symptom progression on average than older people, with their memory, executive function and other important brain functions deteriorating more quickly. The authors said the data can be used for clinical planning and suggested that younger people with Alzheimer disease will likely require more frequent review over the course of their illness, along with more rapid access to support services. Alzheimer disease is the most common cause of dementia, alongside vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia, which together account for more than 92% of cases worldwide. “Younger people with dementia already experience higher burden and stress because their symptom onset usually occurs at a time of high financial, occupational and familial responsibility — and this faster decline could therefore add even more distress,” said study co‐author Dr Monica Cations. “In Australia, young people with Alzheimer disease receive services via the NDIS, which usually only reviews their needs and funding annually. This may prove to be insufficient if symptoms worsen more quickly and support is likely to fall behind the needs of the patient.”

https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal‐of‐alzheimers‐disease/jad215360

Half of people hospitalised with COVID‐19 still have symptoms two years later

Two years after infection, half of people hospitalised with COVID‐19 have at least one symptom, suggests a follow‐up study from China, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The study involved 1192 participants hospitalised with COVID‐19 in Wuhan, China, between 7 January and 29 May 2020, followed up at six months, 12 months and two years after discharge. Physical and mental health improved over time regardless of initial disease severity, with 55% reporting at least one symptom caused by the initial COVID‐19 infection at two years compared with 68% at six months. In general, patients who have recovered from COVID‐19 tend to be in poorer health two years after the initial infection compared with the general population, indicating some patients need more time to recover fully. Around half of the study participants had symptoms of long COVID — such as fatigue and sleep difficulties — at two years, and experienced poorer quality of life and ability to exercise, more mental health problems, and increased use of health care services compared with those without symptoms of long COVID. Mental health assessments of participants with long COVID found 13% (83/650) displayed symptoms of anxiety and 11% (70/649) displayed symptoms of depression, while for those without long COVID, the proportions were 3% (15/536) and 1% (5/540), respectively. Participants with long COVID more often used health care services after being discharged, with 26% (169/648) reporting an outpatient clinic visit compared with 11% (57/538) of participants without long COVID. At 17% (107/648), hospitalisation among long COVID participants was higher than the 10% (52/538) reported by participants without long COVID.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213‐2600(22)00126‐6/fulltext