Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems among caregivers of persons living with neurocognitive disorders (PLWND) during the COVID-19 pandemic in China and investigate whether the COVID-19-related experiences were associated with the presence of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems.Methods: From March 1 to 31, 2020, 160 caregivers of PLWND participated in an online cross-sectional survey on the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was administered to measure anxiety symptoms, and the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) was used to assess depressive symptoms. Questions on sleep duration and sleep quality enquired about sleep problems. Six items were used to explore the COVID-19-related experiences, including community-level infection contact and the level of exposure to media information. We computed the prevalence rate of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate factors associated with these mental health problems.Results: The prevalence rate of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems were 46.9%, 36.3%, and 9.4%. Approximately 55 participants (34.4%) presented with two or more mental health problems. Women had a higher risk of developing anxiety symptoms (OR, 5.284; 95% CI, 2.068–13.503; p = 0.001). Having a mental disorder (OR, 5.104; 95% CI, 1.522–17.114; p = 0.008) was associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms. Caregivers who preferred to access positive information (OR, 0.215; 95% CI, 0.058–0.793; p = 0.021) was associated with decreased risk of sleep problems.Conclusion: Anxiety and depressive symptoms were common among caregivers of older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being female was an independent risk factor for experiencing anxiety symptoms. Preexisting mental disorders increased the risk of depressive symptoms among caregivers, while caregivers who prefer to access positive media information decreased sleep problems.

BackgroundEvidence has demonstrated that vascular risk factors (VRFs) contribute to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly population. Because of the race and different diagnosis standard, there is still no definitive conclusions.ObjectiveTo estimate the VRFs and potential protective factors for MCI in elderly population living in the community in North China.MethodsA total of 3136 participants entered the study. They were screened for hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Cognitive function was assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The diagnosis of MCI was made according to Petersen’s criteria. We investigated the relationship between vascular risk factors, potential protective factors and MCI.ResultsA total of 2511 (80%) participant belonged to normal group and 625 (20%) participants showed MCI. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that stroke and diabetes, but not hypertension or CHD was associated with MCI. Besides, exercise habit could lower the risk of MCI.ConclusionsVascular Risk Factors, including stroke and diabetes, rather than hypertension and CHD are independent risk factors of MCI. Involvement in physical activities seems to reduce the risk of MCI.

This study aimed to investigate the role of early traumatic experiences in development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Chinese elderly people. Seventy six patients and 61 controls were selected and assigned into two study groups, MCI and control, respectively. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) was used for assessment of early trauma, episodic memory and association learning scales for memory evaluation. In addition, event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured using electroencephalography (EEG) to indicate brain electrical activity of subjects during memory/cognitive tests. MCI patients showed higher scores of physical neglect and lower scores of emotional abuse in childhood than control group. Physical neglect score was negatively correlated with scores of MMSE, MoCA, episodic memory, calculation, and the amplitude of CzP300, FzP300 and PzP300, while a positive correlation was seen between the score of physical neglect and the latency of PzN200, FzN200, CzN200, CzP300, FzP300 and PzP300. The score of emotional abuse was weakly correlated with FzP300 amplitude, but not with any other ERP components. Our results suggested that early childhood exposure to physical neglect may lead to impairment in learning and memory, particularly in the associative learning and episodic memory, in old age.