Isolation now a greater risk for elderly than Covid: Doctors

Doctors in geriatric care are noticing more and more elderly patients with medical problems related to fear of leaving their home, despite being vaccinated against Covid-19. "Isolation is now becoming a greater danger than the coronavirus," Arend Arends of the association for clinical geriatrics NVKG said to AD.

"We see people with early dementia who have deteriorated very fast and have to go to a nursing home. Older people who move less, have poorer balance, fall and break something," Arends said. 

The NVKG therefore urged elderly people to start picking up their pre-pandemic activities again. "I understand that the elderly do not go to large-scale events, but it is responsible to do more," Arends said to the newspaper.

Henriette Brons of Alzheimer Nederland told AD that people with dementia are naturally more insecure. "They stay inside more often anyway and then their self-confidence goes down further," she said. This makes them even more reluctant to go outside - a vicious circle that just increases the barrier to take action, she said.

The doctors understand elderly patients' concerns - Covid-19 is still a risk - but they are increasingly concerned about the effects of isolation. If you adhere to the basic rules like social distancing and good hygiene, it is responsible to go out again, they said.