Cognitive test scores declined around lockdown in dementia and cognitive impairment
Patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment scored lower than before the pandemic. The review documented change over time without establishing that social isolation caused it.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Among patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment, pooled cognitive test scores declined compared with pre-pandemic assessments. Declines were reported in both diagnostic groups and in analyses of dementia types. These before-and-after comparisons document a change around lockdown, but they cannot establish how much was caused by isolation rather than other pandemic circumstances or changes in the underlying conditions.
The abstract does not report a comparison that isolates social isolation from other pandemic changes or the underlying conditions' progression. Standardized score changes do not directly describe changes in everyday functioning.
What researchers found
Mini-Mental State Examination scores
Compared with pre-pandemic scores, declines were reported for dementia and mild cognitive impairment; studies included assessments one year before the pandemic and one year after lockdown.
What the score measured
The Mini-Mental State Examination is a test of cognitive abilities. A decline in its score describes worse performance on that measure. The abstract does not translate the pooled changes into specific losses in daily activities.
Why timing does not prove cause
Earlier and later assessments can identify a change over time. Establishing an effect of social isolation requires separating it from other explanations; this abstract does not show how those competing explanations were addressed.
The original publication
Effect of COVID-19 Related Social Isolation on Cognitive Decline in Neurocognitive Disorder Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Landsteiner I, Pinheiro JA, Leles Vieira de Souza B et al.
Neurol India · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40652462
- Record checked
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