Many elderly people living in long-term care facilities have not been allowed to receive visitors in almost a year. | stock photo
Many elderly people living in long-term care facilities have not been allowed to receive visitors in almost a year. | stock photo
The still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced Alzheimer's and dementia patients into unprecedented levels of isolation, and that isolation may be killing them, according to Bridge Michigan.
Understanding the link between isolation, loneliness and Alzheimer's deaths is important because of the hit such patients take to their emotional heath, which in turn has an impact on chemical and physical changes, according to Dr. Sheria Robinson-Lane, a University of Michigan gerontologist.
"You can't take a pill for loneliness," Robinson-Lane told Bridge Michigan.
Dr. Sheria Robinson-Lane
| University of Michigan
Alzheimer's deaths in Michigan increased by double digits last year, compared to previous years, as the still-ongoing pandemic forced sufferers of the disease into unprecedented isolation when long-term care facilities stopped accepting visitors.
That isolation may explain at least part of the increase, according to state data analysis.
"A growing body of research suggests a link between extended isolation and poorer outcomes for seniors, posing a health risk much like smoking, obesity and physical inactivity," Bridge Michigan said. "State death data from 2020 would seem to lend credence to the theory."
Bridge Michigan also reported similar increases in Alzheimer's deaths nationwide last year. The New York Times reported about 446,000 more deaths (from all causes) nationally last year than normal since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
"Normal" isn't what 2020 was about, and that certainly was true for Alzheimer's death in Michigan. The state reported an average of 4,100 Alzheimer’s-related deaths each year between 2014 and 2019. Last year, the state reported 4,838 Alzheimer’s-related deaths, an 18 percent jump over the previous six years, according to Bridge Michigan.
"Similar spikes were seen in deaths from strokes, aneurysms and diabetes among older residents," Bridge Michigan reported.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, early in the pandemic, began issuing executive orders in Michigan that were intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Locking down long-term care facilities was one of them.
By Feb. 1, Michigan had over 561,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,609 deaths, with over 2,000 new cases reported each day, according to Michigan.gov.
Of those, 8,264 cases were confirmed in Monroe County, where 170 had died, according to the state's coronavirus website. Monroe County's population is about 152,000.
Michigan.gov does not provide the number of COVID-19 deaths related to Alzheimer's or dementia.
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