ObjectiveAfter COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic, different countries have enforced lockdowns, and shielding to mitigate the spread of the virus as preventing loss of lives was the priority.Our aim is to look for possible explanations for increased rates of visual hallucinations presented to Community Mental Health Teams for Older People during the period of lockdown.Case reportA review of clinical cases presenting with new onset visual hallucinations to the Community Mental Health Teams for Older People during the lockdown period in 2020 was summarised in two case scenarios. One scenario represents cases with known background of dementia, while the other scenario represents new referrals during the lockdown period with no known psychiatric background. In those cases, the visual hallucinations started during lockdown with no clear cause, did not respond to psychotropic medications, physical health investigations were all normal and hallucinations improved markedly with the end of the lockdown and social isolation.DiscussionFrom clinical practice point of view, during the period of lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic, visual hallucinations has been one of the commonest presentations reported to the Community Mental Health Teams for Older People. Families were calling frequently reporting that their loved ones were “seeing things”. Possible underlying causes include: social isolation, sensory and perceptual deprivation, visual impairment and Charles Bonnet syndrome, lack of cognitive stimulation activities with progress of dementia, superimposed delirium, in addition to depression secondary to loneliness, reduction in community support, increased alcohol consumption and negative effects of repeated media consumption.ConclusionThere has been a marked increase in reporting visual hallucinations in the shielding older people population in the community during the period of lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. This shielded population was not exposed to COVID-19, so it didn't give an explanation to this new phenomenon. Though there are multiple possible causative factors, the effect of the lockdown itself with its resultant social isolation and sensory deprivation remains to be the most significant. Shielding the older people population throughout the COVID-19 pandemic came as an essential measure as the physical safety and preventing loss of lives was the priority; however the lockdown had significant negative effects on the mental health of the shielding population. It remains unclear if those negative effects are going to be reversible in the future, resulting in poor quality of life.
Physiological functions, including kidney function, are strongly associated with age. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is a marker of chronic kidney disease (CKD), declines with age in healthy adults [1]. CKD is defined as a condition with an estimated GFR (eGFR) of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 or continuous presence of kidney impairment (e.g., albuminuria) for 3 months or longer [2].The Hisayama Study Group has investigated the relationship between CKD and vascular risk and reported that the former was an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease [3] and that people with metabolic syndrome had a higher incidence of CKD [4]. CKD has also been established as an independent risk factor for cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular disease [5,6].One study [5] reported that, in middle-aged community-based
In every day practice, at home, in care homes, and in inpatient settings people with dementia may encounter negative experience with water. In this reflection, we try to look at some learning points from clinical practice.
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