Disease Containment Measures Among Older Adults During the Covid-19 Pandemia

NCT ID: NCT04792086

Last Updated: 2024-03-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 12000 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-02-18
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

This study will examine which impact lockdown strategies intending to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had on people with cognitive impairment and dementia.

Comprehensive data from two large health studies in Norway, conducted before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, will be linked with health register data on the use of health care services and medication. Further, it will be conducted a survey addressing questions on social isolation and use of communicative technology, from March 2020 to January 2021. The knowledge gained from this study can improve the health care system's ability to respond more adequately to pandemics and other unforeseen events, so that the negative consequences for older adults with dementia and cognitive impairment can be reduced.

Detailed Description

Introduction: To prevent the spread of COVID-19 societies around the world have implemented various levels of lockdown strategies. Norway locked down major parts of the society from March 2020. Specifically, this meant that public services were closed (e.g. most in-home healthcare services, day care centres, group exercise/gyms and services that offer physiotherapy, medical and psychological consultation). For people with cognitive impairment and dementia, social distancing and self-isolation may have limited the use of normal strategies (e.g., distraction, stimulation, and social interaction) that are routinely adopted to manage some of the dementia symptoms, such as neuropsychiatric symptoms. A lack of daily routines may change the clinical conditions of patients with dementia. Worsening of preexisting and/or the onset of new neuropsychiatric symptoms may occur, in addition to a possible decline of cognitive and functional capacities

Aim: The overarching aim of this project is to provide decision makers with vital information to improve the healthcare of people with dementia and cognitive impairment in the context of an epidemic.

Method: We will use four data sources:1) The fourth wave of the Trøndelag Health study (HUNT, HUNT4 70+), 2) Three national health registries (The Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR), the Norwegian Registry for Primary Health Care (NRPHC) and the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD)), 3) A postal questionnaire concerning social isolation during the COVID-19 epidemic, and 4) The Ageing in Trøndelag study (AiT), which is a follow-up of the HUNT4 70+ study.

With this linkage of cohort data and national health registry data, we can identify factors that may make people with cognitive impairment and dementia vulnerable to loss of healthcare services because of COVID-19 and subsequently to negative health consequences.

Conditions

Dementia; Cognitive Impairment; Depression, Anxiety; Loneliness

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Inhabitants in Nord-Trøndelag 70 years of age and older

All inhabitants in Nord-Trøndelag 70 years of age and older, who participated in the HUNT4 70+-study, between 2017 and 2019.

No interventions assigned to this group

Inhabitants in one area in Trondheim, 70 years of age and older

All inhabitants one area in Trondheim, 70 years of age and older, who participated in the HUNT4 70+-study, between 2017 and 2019.

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Inhabitants living in the designated areas

Exclusion Criteria

• None

• Minimum Eligible Age: 70 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Norwegian Centre for Ageing and Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Geir Selbaek, PhD

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Ageing and Health

Locations

Norwegian National Advisory Unit of Ageing and Health

Tønsberg, , Norway

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Norway

Central Contacts

Tanja Louise Ibsen

Role: CONTACT

tanja.ibsen@aldringoghelse.no

+95881287

Facility Contacts

Kari Midtbø Kristiansen

Role: primary

References

Ibsen TL, Zotcheva E, Bergh S, Gerritsen D, Livingston G, Luras H, Mamelund SE, Rokstad AMM, Strand BH, Voshaar RCO, Selbaek G. Cognitive function, physical function, and mental health in older adults amid reduced primary and specialist healthcare service use during COVID-19: the HUNT study. Geroscience. 2025 Sep 27. doi: 10.1007/s11357-025-01909-x. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 41006671 (View on PubMed)

Ibsen TL, Zotcheva E, Bergh S, Gerritsen D, Livingston G, Luras H, Mamelund SE, Mork Rokstad AM, Strand BH, Thingstad P, Oude Voshaar RC, Selbaek G. The Role of Social Media in Mitigating the Long-Term Impact of Social Isolation on Mental and Cognitive Health in Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The HUNT Study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 May;40(5):e70097. doi: 10.1002/gps.70097.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40338168 (View on PubMed)

Ibsen TL, Zotcheva E, Bergh S, Gerritsen D, Livingston G, Luras H, Mamelund SE, Rokstad AMM, Strand BH, Oude Voshaar RC, Selbaek G. A longitudinal cohort study on dispensed analgesic and psychotropic medications in older adults before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: the HUNT study. BMC Geriatr. 2025 Feb 7;25(1):85. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-05745-8.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 39920618 (View on PubMed)

Ibsen TL, Strand BH, Bergh S, Livingston G, Luras H, Mamelund SE, Voshaar RO, Rokstad AMM, Thingstad P, Gerritsen D, Selbaek G. A longitudinal cohort study on the use of health and care services by older adults living at home with/without dementia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: the HUNT study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Apr 19;24(1):485. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-10846-y.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 38641570 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

COVID19-AIT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id