Survival to late dementia in Dutch nursing home patients.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the determinants of survival to late dementia in Dutch nursing home patients.


METHODS
Observational analysis of a cohort of patients with a prospective follow-up.


METHODS
Psychogeriatric nursing home "Joachim en Anna" in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.


METHODS
Dementia patients from a psychogeriatric nursing home admitted between 1980 and 1989.


METHODS
All patients were followed until death. Age, sex, severity of dementia on admission, and type of dementia were analyzed as determinants of survival to late dementia. Late dementia was operationally defined as total impairment on 20 items of the functional status questionnaire.


RESULTS
The mean disease duration of the study population was 7.0 years, with a wide range. Some died soon after dementia was diagnosed, whereas others lived for more than 25 years after onset of the disease. One hundred twenty-six patients (14.2%) reached the phase of late dementia, most of whom were women (90%) with Alzheimer's disease (60%). For most of the patients, this phase lasted 1 year or less. Age, sex, type of dementia, and severity of dementia on admission all contributed significantly to predicting survival to late dementia.


CONCLUSIONS
One of seven nursing home patients with dementia survived to late dementia. Nursing home physicians can use these findings to inform relatives about the prognosis.
Koopmans
Raymond T C M
RT
Department of Nursing Home Medicine, University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands. R.Koopmans@uphg.umcn.nl
Ekkerink
John L P
JL
van Weel
Chris
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000401:mortality*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate