Deaths from dementia rise during pandemic

+ a catalog of uniquely wrong presidential polls‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Seasonal influenza and other diseases cause more illness and death in older people than they do in younger ones. But there was a surprising jump of almost 20% in the number of deaths from dementia over the summer, which caught many doctors off guard. Gerontology professor Laurie Archbald-Pannone of the University of Virginia was not one of them, however. She explains the factors, including social isolation and overwhelmed caregivers, that have likely contributed to the sad rise in deaths from dementia during the pandemic.

Lynne Anderson

Senior Health + Medicine Editor

In the time of coronavirus, people with dementia and their caregivers need more support than ever. Westend61 via Getty Images

Dementia deaths rise during the summer of COVID, leading to concern

Laurie Archbald-Pannone, University of Virginia

New statistics show that people with dementia have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic.

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Deaths from dementia rise during pandemic

Dementia deaths rise during the summer of COVID, leading to concern

Science + Technology

How do pandemics end? History suggests diseases fade but are almost never truly gone

Arts + Culture

Schadenfreude over Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis was more about cosmic justice than joy in another’s pain

3 ways to get your point across while wearing a mask – tips from an award-winning speech coach

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Schools often fail to identify gifted and talented students – especially if they are Black, Latino or Native American

Politics/Election '20

Epic miscalls and landslides unforeseen: The exceptional catalog of polling failure

What happens when senators die or are incapacitated?

Dominance or democracy? Authoritarian white masculinity as Trump and Pence’s political debate strategy

Trending on site

Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked of conspiracies against God’s chosen – those ideas are finding resonance today

When COVID-19 superspreaders are talking, where you sit in the room matters

An autoimmune-like antibody response is linked with severe COVID-19

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