title: Mortality in nursing home residents without cognitive impairment and its relation to self-reported health-related quality of life, sociodemographic factors, illness variables and cancer diagnosis: a 5-year follow-up study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is generally known that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) predicts cause-specific mortality. Few studies have explored whether generic self-reported HRQOL, sociodemographic factors and illness variables are independently associated with mortality among cognitively intact nursing home (NH) residents with and without cancer. We hypothesized that sociodemographic factors and illness variables would be associated with mortality and that HRQOL, measured using the SF-36 Health Survey, would predict mortality among NH residents with and without cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  We followed a cohort of 227 cognitively intact (Clinical Dementia Rating scale score ≤ 0.5) older residents (60 with cancer and 167 without) from 30 NH from 2004-2005 to 2010. We collected data by face-to-face interview. We obtained sociodemographic variables and medical diagnoses from the records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Survival did not differ between residents with and without cancer (P = 0.31). Twenty percent of the residents with cancer and 13% without cancer were still alive. After adjustment for sociodemographic and illness variables, increasing age (P < 0.001), higher education (P = 0.009), comorbidity (P = 0.04) and the subdimension physical functioning (P = 0.009) predicted mortality. Bodily pain was only marginally associated with mortality (P = 0.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Independent of cancer, HRQOL and comorbidity predicted mortality among NH residents without cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Health and Social Science, Bergen University College, Haugeveien 28, 5005, Bergen, Norway. Jorunn.Drageset@hib.no
authors.forename: Jorunn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drageset
authors.forename: Geir Egil
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Eide
authors.forename: Anette Hylen
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Ranhoff
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors