title: Institution type-dependent high prevalence of dementia in long-term care units.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is estimated that there are 90,000 patients with dementia in the 23 million habitants of Taiwan, with a few institutions specialized in dementia care. To assess the need of institutional care for dementia, we investigated the institution prevalence of dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed stratified randomized sampling of elder residents from different types of institutions in different regions of Taiwan. A 2-stage survey with screening and clinical confirmation was carried out in 2004.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1,525 residents aged 65 years and over in 60 institutions participated in the study in which 1,308 elders completed the 2-stage survey. Among these, 631 elders were diagnosed as having dementia. The dementia prevalence was 26.8% in the residential houses, 61.8% in the assisted living facilities and 64.5% in the nursing homes. Vascular dementia was the leading cause of dementia in the institutions. Old age, diabetes mellitus and family history of dementia increased risks for both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The investigation showed that the prevalence of dementia in the long-term care units of Taiwan was much higher than those from community studies and the high prevalence in the institutions depended on the type of the long-term care unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Ta-Fu
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming-Jang
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Li-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yueh-Hsia
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Shu-Feng
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Che-Long
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Shaw-Ji
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chung-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wan-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Tony Hsiu-Hsi
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Rong-Chi
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000379:methods*; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology