Mortality in nursing home residents stratified according to subtype of dementia: a longitudinal study over three years

Mortality in Newly Admitted Nursing Home Older Adults with Dementia in France: A Post Hoc Analysis from an Observational Study in the Bordeaux Region

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

A significant proportion of older adults with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders live in a long-term care facility. This study aimed to determine the time delay between admission and death for older adults with dementia.

METHODS

A post hoc analysis was conducted using data from a French observational cohort, identifying older adults with dementia who were admitted to nursing homes. This study assessed median survival times after admission to care facilities by using Kaplan-Meier models and evaluated factors potentially associated with the time until death by using Cox models.

RESULTS

A total of 201 individuals were included. The median survival time from admission to a nursing home to death was 39 months. Being male, an older age, and having higher cognitive impairment and comorbidities were associated with decreased survival rates.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides survival results for institutionalised older adults with dementia in France and provides elements for the definition of future public policies.

Frailty Predicts Dementia and Death in Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care

OBJECTIVES

To investigate how the accumulation of deficits traditionally related and not traditionally related to dementia predicts dementia and mortality.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study with up to 9 years of follow-up.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Long-term care residents aged ≥65 with or without dementia.

METHODS

Frailty indices based on health deficit accumulation were constructed. The FI-t consisted of 27 deficits traditionally related to dementia; the FI-n consisted of 27 deficits not traditionally related to dementia; the FI-a consisted of all 54 deficits taken from the FI-t and the FI-n.

RESULTS

In this long-term care sample (n = 29,758; mean age = 84.6 ± 8.0; 63.8% female), 91% of the residents had at least 1 impairment in activities of daily living, 61% had a diagnosis of dementia, and the vast majority were frail (53% had FI-a > 0.2). Residents with dementia had a higher FI-t compared with those without dementia (0.278 ± 0.110 vs. 0.272 ± 0.108), whereas residents without dementia had a higher FI-n (0.143 ± 0.082 vs. 0.136 ± 0.079). Within 9 years, 97% of the sample had died; a 0.01 increase of the FI-a was associated with a 4% increase of the mortality risk, adjusting for age, sex, admission year, stay length, and dementia type. Residents who developed dementia after admission to long-term care had higher baseline FI-t and FI-a (P's < .003) than those who remained without dementia.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Frailty is highly prevalent in older adults living in long-term care, irrespective of the presence or absence of dementia. Accumulation of deficits, either traditionally related or unrelated to dementia, is associated with risks of death and dementia, and more deficits increases the probability. Our findings have implications for improving the quality of care of older adults in long-term care, by monitoring the degree of frailty at admission, managing distinct needs in relation to dementia, and enhancing frailty level-informed care and services.

Associations of cognitive impairment and functional limitation with all-cause mortality risk in older adults: A population-based study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Cognitive impairment and functional limitation are commonly observed in older adults. They have a complex correlation, and both are risk factors for mortality. This prospective cohort study aimed to explore the independent and joint impact of cognitive impairment and functional limitations on all-cause mortality in older adults. A total of 3,759 participants aged ≥ 60 years who had available information on mortality data, cognitive function, physical function, and covariates were enrolled. Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to assess the independent and joint impacts of cognitive impairment and functional limitation on all-cause mortality. Smoothing curve fitting was used to show the nonlinear relationship between the Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) score and all-cause mortality. An interaction between cognitive impairment and functional limitation was identified when examining their associations with all-cause mortality. Cognitive impairment and functional limitation independently correlated with all-cause mortality risk even after adjusting for covariates and performing mutual adjustments (HR for cognitive impairment: 1.34, 95% CI 1.15-1.56; HR for functional limitation: 1.50, 95% CI 1.32-1.70). When the DSC score was > 18, as the score increased, the risk of death significantly decreased (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99). Participants with both cognitive impairment and functional limitation had the highest hazard ratio for all-cause mortality (HR 1.98, 95%CI 1.63-2.40). In summary, cognitive impairment and functional limitation independently correlated with increased all-cause mortality risk. A higher DSC score was a protective factor reducing the premature mortality risk. Older adults with cognitive impairment and functional limitation demonstrated the highest all-cause mortality risk.

Brain vital signs as a quantitative measure of cognition: Methodological implementation in a care home environment

Introduction

Managing cognitive function in care homes is a significant challenge. Individuals in care have a variety of scores across standard clinical assessments, such as the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE), and many of them have scores that fall within the range associated with dementia. A recent methodological advance, brain vital sign monitoring through auditory event-related potentials, provides an objective and sensitive physiological measurement to track abnormalities, differences, or changes in cognitive function. Taking advantage of point-of-care accessibility, the current study evaluated the methodological feasibility, the assessment of whether a particular research method can be successfully implemented, of quantitatively measuring cognition of care home residents using brain vital signs. Secondarily, the current study examined the relationship between brain vital signs, specifically the cognitive processing associated N400 component, and MMSE scores in care home residents.

Materials and methods

Brain vital signs used the established N100 (auditory sensation), P300 (basic attention), and N400 (cognitive processing) event-related potential (ERP) components. A total of 52 residents were enrolled, with all participants evaluated using the MMSE. Participants were assigned into homogeneous groups based on their MMSE scores, and were categorized into low (n = 14), medium (n = 17), and high (n = 13) MMSE groups. Both brain vital sign measures and underlying ERP waveforms were examined. Statistical analyses used partial least squares correlation (PLS) analyses in which both MMSE and age were included as factors, as well as jackknife approaches, to test for significant brain vital sign changes.

Results

The current study successfully measured and analyzed standardized, quantifiable brain vital signs in a care home setting. ERP waveform data showed specific N400 changes between MMSE groups as a function of MMSE score. PLS analyses confirmed significant MMSE-related and age-related differences in the N400 amplitude (p < 0.05, corrected). Similarly, the jackknife approach emphasized the N400 latency difference between the low and high MMSE groups.

Discussion and conclusion

It was possible to acquire brain vital signs measures in care home residents. Additionally, the current study evaluated brain vital signs relative to MMSE in this group. The comparison revealed significant decreasing in N400 response amplitude (cognitive processing) as a function of both MMSE score and age, as well as a slowing of N400 latency. The findings indicate that objective neurophysiological measures of impairment are detectable in care home residents across the span of MMSE scores. Direct comparison to MMSE- and age-related variables represents a critical initial step ahead of future studies that will investigate relative improvements in sensitivity, validity, reliability and related advantages of brain vital sign monitoring.

Nutrition, Exercise, and Cognitive Rehabilitation for Dementia Prevention

Dementia is one of the most significant global challenges in medical and social care in the 21st century. It affects not only the patients themselves, but also their families, caregivers, and society in general, causing physical, psychological, and socioeconomic effects. As of 2020, there are approximately 6 million people in Japan aged 65 or older with dementia, and this number is expected to increase to around 7 million by 2025, meaning that one out of every five elderly people will have dementia. To prevent the onset and progression of dementia, it is crucial to have a proper understanding of its risks and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Leading an active life from an early stage can also aid in delaying or preventing the onset of dementia. Livingston has identified 12 risks that can lead to dementia, including physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, air pollution, head injury, social isolation, poor educational history, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and hearing loss. Modifying one's lifestyle and leading an active life can be crucial in reducing these risks. The Mediterranean diet is gaining attention as a good practice for dementia prevention due to its diversity, richness in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins. Exercise has been shown to prevent dementia on biological, behavioral, and socio-psychological levels. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that can alter brain plasticity and is being studied for clinical applications as a non-drug therapy for preventing dementia progression.

Palliative Approach to Care Education for Multidisciplinary Staff of Long-Term Care Homes: A Pretest Post-Test Study

This study used a single-group pre-test and post-test design to evaluate an educational workshop for multidisciplinary staff working in long-term care homes on implementing a palliative approach to care and perceptions about advanced care planning conversations. Two outcomes were measured to assess the preliminary efficacy of the educational workshop at baseline and 1-month post-intervention. Knowledge regarding implementing a palliative approach to care was assessed using the End-of-Life Professional Caregivers Survey and changes in staff perception toward ACP conversations were assessed using the Staff Perceptions Survey. Findings suggest that staff experienced an improvement in self-reported knowledge regarding a palliative approach to care (p ≤ .001); and perceptions of knowledge, attitude, and comfort related to advance care planning discussions (p ≤ .027). The results indicate that educational workshops can assist in improving multidisciplinary staff's knowledge about a palliative approach to care and comfort in carrying out advance care planning discussions with residents, family care partners, and among long-term care staff.