An elderly couple meets through a glass partition at a convalescent hospital in Muan, southwestern South Korea, on March 8, 2021, after the facility permitted non-contact visits. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Seniors with dementia have seen their symptoms worsen at a much faster rate after being cut off from society during the pandemic era.
Choi Ho-jin, a professor of neurology at Hanyang University Guri Hospital led a team that published an article in Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders, a journal published by the Korean Dementia Association, in which they reported that 51.5 percent of dementia patients have seen worsening neurobehavioral symptoms since the onset of the pandemic.
Among those who maintained the same level of physical activity in the six months following the coronavirus outbreak, 42.3 percent saw their symptoms worsen.
Among those whose level of physical activity dropped in the first six months of the pandemic, a whopping 66.7 percent saw their symptoms worsen.
The research team explained that social distancing and other restrictions have taken a toll on dementia patients’ physical, cognitive, and social activity, resulting in worse clinical symptoms.
A dementia care center in Seoul run by the National Institute of Dementia used to diagnose dementia patients at a rate of 5.3 people per month prior to the pandemic.
Now, the number has grown to 8.3 people per month.
“The rising level of anxiety and depression among dementia patients in the pandemic era has led to higher drug dosages,” noted psychiatry professor Kim Seong-yoon from Asan Medical Center .
“Dementia patients have already lost 60 percent of their brain cells, and it is important that they keep the remaining cells active,” Kim said.
“Outdoor social activities are critical to stimulating neurons, and the absence of such activity has taken a serious toll on the symptoms of those suffering from dementia.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
