Risk of Mortality in Elderly Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients With Mental Health Disorders: A Nationwide Retrospective Study in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the different clinical characteristics among elderly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with and without mental disorders in South Korea and determine if these characteristics have an association with underlying mental disorders causing mortality. METHOD: A population-based comparative cohort study was conducted using the national claims database. Individuals aged ≥65 years with confirmed COVID-19 between January 1, 2020 and April 10, 2020 were assessed. The endpoints for evaluating mortality for all participants were death, 21 days after diagnosis, or April 10, 2020. The risk of mortality associated with mental disorders was estimated using Cox hazards regression. RESULTS: We identified 814 elderly COVID-19 patients (255 [31.3%] with mental disorder and 559 [68.7%] with nonmental disorder). Individuals with mental disorders were found more likely to be older, taking antithrombotic agents, and had diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive lung disease, and urinary tract infections than those without mental disorders. After propensity score stratification, our study included 781 patients in each group (236 [30.2%] with mental disorder and 545 [69.8%] with nonmental disorder). The mental disorder group showed higher mortality rates than the nonmental disorder group (12.7% [30/236] versus 6.8% [37/545]). However, compared to patients without mental disorders, the hazard ratio (HR) for mortality in elderly COVID-19 patients with mental disorders was not statistically significant (HR: 1.57, 95%CI: 0.95-2.56). CONCLUSION: Although the association between mental disorders in elderly individuals and mortality in COVID-19 is unclear, this study suggests that elderly patients with comorbid conditions and those taking psychiatric medications might be at a higher risk of COVID-19.

Higher HbA1c Is Associated With Greater 2-Year Progression of White Matter Hyperintensities.

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) lesions on brain MRI images are surrogate markers of cerebral small vessel disease. Longitudinal studies examining the association between diabetes and WMH progression have yielded mixed results. Thus, in this study, we investigated the association between HbA1c, a biomarker for the presence and severity of hyperglycemia, and longitudinal WMH change after adjusting for known risk factors for WMH progression. We recruited 64 participants from South Korean memory clinics to undergo brain MRI at the baseline and a 2-year follow-up. We found the following. First, higher HbA1c was associated with greater global WMH volume (WMHV) changes after adjusting for known risk factors (ß = 7.7 × 10-4; P = 0.025). Second, the association between baseline WMHV and WMHV progression was only significant at diabetic levels of HbA1c (P < 0.05, when HbA1c >6.51%), and non-apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carriers had a stronger association between HbA1c and WMHV progression (ß = -2.59 × 10-3; P = 0.004). Third, associations of WMHV progression with HbA1c were particularly apparent for deep WMHV change (ß = 7.17 × 10-4; P < 0.01) compared with periventricular WMHV change and, for frontal (ß = 5.00 × 10-4; P < 0.001) and parietal (ß = 1.53 × 10-4; P < 0.05) lobes, WMHV change compared with occipital and temporal WMHV change. In conclusion, higher HbA1c levels were associated with greater 2-year WMHV progression, especially in non-APOE ε4 participants or those with diabetic levels of HbA1c. These findings demonstrate that diabetes may potentially exacerbate cerebrovascular and white matter disease.