COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years

Shan, Dan and Xu, Yudi and Yang, Chuang and Crawford, Trevor J. and Holland, Carol (2025) COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years. npj Dementia, 1 (1). ISSN 3005-1940

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Abstract

COVID-19 is associated with long-term neurological complications, but its impact on new-onset dementia (NOD), particularly vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), remains unclear. We observed adults aged 50 years and older from the UK Biobank over a median observational period exceeding two years following COVID-19 infection. Incidences of various types of dementia (including all-cause dementia, AD, and VaD) in these individuals were compared with those in propensity-score-matched controls without COVID-19 and in individuals with non-COVID respiratory illnesses (including both non-communicable respiratory conditions and non-COVID respiratory tract infections). We found that COVID-19 survivors had a higher likelihood of developing NOD compared to uninfected controls. This increased risk was primarily driven by VaD rather than AD; however, the risk did not surpass that observed among individuals with non-COVID respiratory illnesses. Notably, individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions were particularly vulnerable, exhibiting significantly higher risks of VaD following COVID-19 infection.