title: Risk assessment of wandering behavior in mild dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This prospective longitudinal study aims to determine the risk factors of wandering-related adverse consequences in community-dwelling persons with mild dementia. These adverse consequences include negative outcomes of wandering (falls, fractures, and injuries) and eloping behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 143 dyads of persons with mild dementia and their caregivers from a veteran's hospital and memory clinic in Florida. Wandering-related adverse consequences were measured using the Revised Algase Wandering Scale - Community Version. Variables such as personality (Big Five Inventory), behavioral response to stress, gait, and balance (Tinetti Gait and Balance), wayfinding ability (Wayfinding Effectiveness Scale), and neurocognitive abilities (attention, cognition, memory, language/verbal skills, and executive functioning) were also measured. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the predictors of these wandering-related adverse consequences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 49% of the study participants had falls, fractures, and injuries due to wandering behavior, and 43.7% demonstrated eloping behaviors. Persistent walking (OR = 2.6) and poor gait (OR = 0.9) were significant predictors of negative outcomes of wandering, while persistent walking (OR = 13.2) and passivity (OR = 2.55) predicted eloping behavior. However, there were no correlations between wandering-related adverse consequences and participants' characteristics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, and education), health status (Charlson comorbidity index), or neurocognitive abilities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results highlight the importance of identifying at-risk individuals so that effective interventions can be developed to reduce or prevent the adverse consequences of wandering.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.|School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: VISN 8 Center of Innovation, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Luther
authors.affiliation: School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Volicer
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Algase
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.affiliation: VISN 8 Center of Innovation, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA.|School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.affiliation: VISN 8 Center of Innovation, James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055816:Wandering Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology
keywords: dementia; eloping behavior; wandering