More Research Is Needed Into COVID-19 Dementia Deaths

The dementia research charity Alzheimer's UK said more research is needed to determine whether the increased number of deaths from dementia in Britain is due to the COVID-19 virus, reports Health Europa . Data from the U.K. Office of National Statistics from March 7 to May 1 showed that dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and "symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions" mainly indicating old age, constitute two-thirds of the total number of non-COVID-19 excess deaths in England and Wales. Compared with the five-year average, the rate of dementia- and Alzheimer's-related deaths was significantly higher in April 2020. Alzheimer's UK also advocates for greater testing of COVID-19 across the United Kingdom, especially in care communities, to ensure the pathogen is not going undiagnosed. "Until testing has significantly increased, we will not be able to draw proper conclusions as to why people with dementia are being disproportionately affected," said Alzheimer's Research UK's Samantha Benham-Hermet.