Increased healthcare service utilizations for patients with dementia: a population-based study

Feasibility of Telephone-Based Cognitive Assessments and Healthcare Utilization in US Medicare-Enrolled Older Adults Following Emergency Department Discharge

BACKGROUND

Wider screening and assessment for Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias (ADRD) may increase access to supportive care, improve allocation of medical care, and foster the use of interventions that prevent or delay disease progression. Yet, the effect of diagnostic timing on clinical and utilization outcomes is poorly understood. Community-based settings such as a hospital emergency department (ED) may be an underrecognized opportunity to assess cognition and impacts on individuals and health systems. This study assessed the feasibility of recruiting older adults for telephone-based trials following presentation to the ED and administering telephone based cognitive assessments over the phone in this population.

METHODS

Medicare-enrolled individuals 65+ years of age (n = 160) presenting to the Oregon Health & Science University Emergency Department (Portland, Oregon) between May 2022 and February 2023 were recruited by telephone. Participants were administered the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) Assessment and the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Cognitive Measure Questions on Mental Clarity via telephone 1-12 weeks post-discharge to evaluate cognition. Electronic medical records (EMR) were reviewed for medical care utilization including primary care provider (PCP) visits, hospital admissions, and ED visits for the 3 years prior to ED presentation.

RESULTS

Twenty-six percent of eligible ED users contacted elected for study enrollment. The TICS Assessment score had a significant relationship with the three evaluated health care utilization measures (ED, PCP visits, or hospitalizations); the PROMIS Assessment had significant but weak correlations to ED and PCP visits.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults 65+ years presenting to the ED are amenable to enroll in telephone-based cognition-focused trials and cognitive assessments can be carried out over the telephone in this population. The PROMIS Assessment may be a better cognition assessment tool when evaluating for cognition and care utilization in this population. In addition to the limits of the screening tools used in this study, a lack of a representative sample is a limitation of the study design. Future studies could use other validated cognitive assessment tools and utilize a study design with a recruitment strategy focused on obtaining a representative sample of older ED patients.

The Relationship between Delirium and Dementia

Delirium and dementia are common causes of cognitive impairment in older adults. They are distinct but interrelated. Delirium, an acute confusional state, has been linked to the chronic and progressive loss of cognitive ability seen in dementia. Individuals with dementia are at higher risk for delirium, and delirium itself is a risk factor for incident dementia. Additionally, delirium in individuals with dementia can hasten underlying cognitive decline. In this review, we summarize recent literature linking these conditions, including epidemiological, clinicopathological, neuroimaging, biomarker, and experimental evidence supporting the intersection between these conditions. Strategies for evaluation and diagnosis that focus on distinguishing delirium from dementia in clinical settings and recommendations for delirium prevention interventions for patients with dementia are presented. We also discuss studies that provide evidence that delirium may be a modifiable risk factor for dementia and consider the impact of delirium prevention interventions on long-term outcomes.

Population-level trends in self-reported healthcare utilization among older adults in Mexico with and without cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND

Older adults with cognitive impairment exhibit different patterns of healthcare utilization compared to their cognitively healthy counterparts. Despite extensive research in high-income countries, similar studies in low- and middle-income countries are lacking. This study aims to investigate the population-level patterns in healthcare utilization among older adults with and without cognitive impairment in Mexico.

METHODS

Data came from five waves (2001-2018) of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. We used self-reported measures for one or more over-night hospital stays, doctor visits, visits to homeopathic doctors, and dental visits in the past year; seeing a pharmacist in the past year; and being screened for cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension in the past two years. Cognitive impairment was defined using a modified version of the Cross Cultural Cognitive Examination that assessed verbal memory, visuospatial and visual scanning. Total sample included 5,673 participants with cognitive impairment and 34,497 without cognitive impairment interviewed between 2001 and 2018. Generalized Estimating Equation models that adjusted for time-varying demographic and health characteristics and included an interaction term between time and cognitive status were used.

RESULTS

For all participants, the risk for one or more overnight hospital stays, doctor visits, and dental visits in the past year, and being screened for diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol increased from 2001 to 2012 and leveled off or decreased in 2015 and 2018. Conversely, seeing a homeopathic doctor decreased. Cognitive impairment was associated with higher risk of hospitalization (RR = 1.13, 1.03-1.23) but lower risk of outpatient services (RR = 0.95, 0.93-0.97), cholesterol screening (RR = 0.93, 0.91-0.96), and diabetes screening (RR = 0.95, 0.92-0.97). No significant difference was observed in the use of pharmacists, homeopathic doctors, or folk healers based on cognitive status. Interaction effects indicated participants with cognitive impairment had lower risk for dental visits and hypertension screening but that these trajectories differed over time compared to participants without cognitive impairment.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified distinct population-level trends in self-reported healthcare utilization and differences according to cognitive status, particularly for elective and screening services. These findings highlight the necessity for policy interventions to ensure older adults with cognitive impairment have their healthcare needs met.

Non-literacy biased, culturally fair cognitive detection tool in primary care patients with cognitive concerns: a randomized controlled trial

Dementia is often undiagnosed in primary care, and even when diagnosed, untreated. The 5-Cog paradigm, a brief, culturally adept, cognitive detection tool paired with a clinical decision support may reduce barriers to improving dementia diagnosis and care. We performed a randomized controlled trial in primary care patients experiencing health disparities (racial/ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged). Older adults with cognitive concerns were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the 5-Cog paradigm or control. Primary outcome was improved dementia care actions defined as any of the following endpoints within 90 days: new mild cognitive impairment syndrome or dementia diagnoses as well as investigations, medications or specialist referrals ordered for cognitive indications. Groups were compared using intention-to-treat principles with multivariable logistic regression. Overall, 1,201 patients (mean age 72.8 years, 72% women and 94% Black, Hispanic or Latino) were enrolled and 599 were assigned to 5-Cog and 602 to the control. The 5-Cog paradigm demonstrated threefold odds of improvement in dementia care actions over control (odds ratio 3.43, 95% confidence interval 2.32-5.07). No serious intervention-related adverse events were reported. The 5-Cog paradigm improved diagnosis and management in patients with cognitive concerns and provides evidence to promote practice change to improve dementia care actions in primary care.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03816644 .

Health care utilization and costs in the years preceding dementia identification

INTRODUCTION

There is evidence that health care utilization increases after incident dementia, particularly after dementia diagnosis and toward the end of life; however, less is known about utilization in the years before dementia identification.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study we obtained data on n = 5547 beneficiaries from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-Medicare linked sample (n = 1241 with and n = 4306 without dementia) to compare longitudinal trends in health care costs and utilization in the 6 years preceding dementia identification relative to a confounder-balanced reference group without dementia.

RESULTS

We found that persons with dementia had a greater prevalence of outpatient emergency department (ED), inpatient hospital, skilled nursing, and home health use, and total health care costs in the years preceding dementia identification compared to their similar counterparts without dementia across a comparable timespan in later life.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence to suggest greater healthcare burden may exist well before clinical manifestation and identification of dementia.

HIGHLIGHTS

Several studies have documented the tremendous healthcare-related costs of living with dementia, particularly toward the end of life. Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which, for some, includes a prolonged pre-clinical phase. However, health services research to date has seldom considered the time before incident dementia. This study documents that health care utilization and costs are significantly elevated in the years before incident dementia relative to a demographically-similar comparison group without dementia.

Medication Reviews and Clinical Outcomes in Persons with Dementia: A Scoping Review

Persons diagnosed with dementia are often faced with challenges related to polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use and could benefit from regular medication reviews. However, the benefit of such reviews has not been examined in this population. Therefore, the current scoping review was designed to identify the gaps in the current knowledge regarding the impact of medication reviews on the clinical outcomes in older adults with dementia. Relevant studies were identified by searching three databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, and Scopus) from inception to January 2022 with a combination of keywords and medical subject headings. After the removal of duplicates and ineligible articles, 22 publications of the initial 8346 were included in this review. A total of 57 outcomes were identified, including those pertaining to the evaluation of medication use (n = 17), drug-related interventions (n = 11), drug-related problems (n = 10), dementia-related behavioral symptoms (n = 8), cost-effectiveness (n = 2), drug-related hospital admissions (n = 1), as well as outcomes classified as other (n = 7). Gaps identified through this scoping review included the paucity of studies measuring the impact of medication reviews on the medication management capacity and medication adherence, quality of life, and mortality.

Risks of organ failures and deaths associated with young-onset dementia after hospitalizations for motor vehicle crash injuries: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study

Patients with dementia are at increased risks of adverse consequences associated with motor vehicle crash injury (MVCI). However, studies of the association for patients with young-onset dementia (YOD) are limited. Therefore, we aim to investigate whether YOD was associated with adverse outcomes after hospitalization for MVCI. In this retrospective cohort study, we identified 2052 MVCI patients with YOD (aged 40-64 years) between 2006 and 2015 and included 10 260 matched MVCI patients without YOD (matching ratio: 1:5) from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and the Taiwan Police-Reported Traffic Accident Registry. We evaluated the intensive care unit (ICU) admission, organ failure, in-hospital and 30-day mortalities, length of hospital stay, and hospital costs. Compared with participants without dementia, patients with YOD had higher rates of ICU admission (34.31% vs. 20.89%) and respiratory failure (6.04% vs. 2.94%), with a covariate-adjusted odds ratio of 1.50 (95% CI 1.33-1.70) and 1.63 (95% CI 1.24-2.13), respectively. The patients also exhibited higher in-hospital mortality (4.73% vs. 3.12%) and 30-day mortality (5.12% vs. 3.34%) than their non-YOD counterparts, but the risk ratio was not significant after adjusting for transport mode. Moreover, the log means of hospital stay and cost were higher among patients with YOD (0.09 days; 95% CI 0.04-0.14 and NT$0.17; 95% CI 0.11-0.23, respectively). This cohort study determined that YOD may be adversely associated with hospital outcomes among MVCI patients. However, the association between YOD and mortality risk may depend on transport mode.

Health-care utilization among dementia patients with or without comorbid depression in Taiwan: A nationwide population-based longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined the association of comorbid depression with health-care utilization among dementia patients. This study compared health-care utilization between dementia patients with and without comorbid depression.

METHODS

Using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified 10,710 patients with newly diagnosed dementia between 2005 and 2014: 1785 had comorbid depression (group 1) and 8925 did not (group 2). Patients were tracked for 1 year to evaluate outpatient, emergency, and inpatient service utilization and length of hospital stay (LOS). Multivariable regression was applied to examine the association between comorbid depression and health-care utilization and analyze factors associated with inpatient visits and LOS.

RESULTS

Group 1 had significantly fewer outpatient visits (β = -0.115; p < 0.001), more inpatient visits (β = 0.157; p = 0.005), and a longer LOS (β = 0.191; p < 0.001) than did group 2. The groups did not differ significantly in emergency visits (β = 0.030; p = 0.537). In group 1, age, gender, and specific comorbidities were predictors of inpatient visits; those factors and salary-based insurance premiums were predictors of LOS.

CONCLUSION

Group 1 utilized less outpatient care but more inpatient care, suggesting health-care service for these patients may be needed to improvement.

Health service use before and after dementia diagnosis: a retrospective matched case-control study

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated patterns in health service usage among older adults with dementia and matched controls over a 10-year span from 5 years before until 5 years after diagnosis.

DESIGN

Population-based retrospective matched case-control study.

SETTING

Administrative health data of individuals in Saskatchewan, Canada from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2019.

PARTICIPANTS

The study included 2024 adults aged 65 years and older living in the community at the time of dementia diagnosis from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, matched 1:1 to individuals without a dementia diagnosis on age group, sex, rural versus urban residence, geographical region and comorbidity.

OUTCOME MEASURES

For each 5-year period before and after diagnosis, we examined usage of health services each year including family physician (FP) visits, specialist visits, hospital admissions, all-type prescription drug dispensations and short-term care admissions. We used negative binomial regression to estimate the effect of dementia on yearly average health service utilisation adjusting for sex, age group, rural versus urban residence, geographical region, 1 year prior health service use and comorbidity.

RESULTS

Adjusted findings demonstrated that 5 years before diagnosis, usage of all health services except hospitalisation was lower among persons with dementia than persons without dementia (all p<0.001). After this point, differences in higher health service usage among persons with dementia compared to without dementia were greatest in the year before and year after diagnosis. In the year before diagnosis, specialist visits were 59.7% higher (p<0.001) and hospitalisations 90.5% higher (p<0.001). In the year after diagnosis, FP visits were 70.0% higher (p<0.001) and all-type drug prescriptions 29.1% higher (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest the year before and year after diagnosis offer multiple opportunities to implement quality supports. FPs are integral to dementia care and require effective resources to properly serve this population.

Descriptive Study of Ambulance Attendances for Older Adults with and without Dementia in Western Australia

OBJECTIVE

To describe and compare characteristics of ambulance attendances for older adults with and without dementia.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using electronic patient care records from the main ambulance service in Western Australia. All attendances for people aged 65 years or older in the years 2019-21 were included. Dementia status was adjudicated from the clinical history and medication lists. Patient and case characteristics of those with and without dementia were compared and stratified by type of residence.

RESULTS

There were 277,996 emergency ambulance attendances made by 124,711 older adults, of whom 23.5% had dementia. The mean number of attendances per person was 3.3 in the dementia cohort vs 2.0 in those without dementia. Falls were the leading reason for ambulance attendance. People with dementia were significantly frailer, required longer at-scene intervals, were less likely to be transported as the highest priority, and had lower 30-day survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Dementia is common amongst older adults attended by paramedics and is associated with higher ambulance utilization per person. People with dementia attended by paramedics have stronger signals of vulnerability, such as increased frailty. As the number of people living with dementia increases in the future, there are implications for workforce training and service planning. There are opportunities for developing alternatives to emergency department transportation for some people with dementia.

The Excess Costs of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Dementia is one of the costliest diseases for health care systems with growing importance for policy makers.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to systematically review the current literature of excess cost studies for dementia and to analyze excess costs in a meta-analysis.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, EconLit, NHS-EED, and Cochrane Library. 22 studies were included and assigned to one of three subgroups according to the time period that they analyzed during disease progression: the time of diagnosis, the time between diagnosis and death, and the time prior to death. Excess costs were analyzed using the ratio of means (ROM) and meta-analysis was performed by pooling ROMs in a random effects model.

RESULTS

Total costs were significantly higher for demented persons compared to non-demented persons at the time of diagnosis (ROM: 2.08 [1.71, 2.54], p <  0.00001, I2 = 98%) and in the time period between diagnosis and death (ROM: 2.19 [1.97, 2.44], p <  0.00001, I2 = 100%). The ROM was highest for professional home care (ROM: 4.96 [2.62, 9.40], p <  0.0001, I2 = 88%) and for nursing facilities (ROM: 4.02 [2.53, 6.40], p <  0.00001, I2 = 100%) for the time period between diagnosis and death.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis is the first to assess excess costs of dementia by the ROM method on a global scale. We conclude that our findings demonstrate that costs of dementia constitute a substantial economic burden.

Healthcare Utilization in Different Stages among Patients with Dementia: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

To evaluate the trend of healthcare utilization among patients with dementia (PwD) in different post-diagnosis periods, Taiwan's nationwide population database was used in this study. PwD were identified on the basis of dementia diagnoses during 2002-2011. We further subdivided the cases into 10 groups from the index year to the 10th year after diagnosis. The frequency of emergency department visits and hospitalizations, the length of stay, outpatient and department visits, and the number of medications used were retrieved. The Joinpoint regression approach was used to estimate the annual percent change (APC) of healthcare utilization. The overall trend of healthcare utilization increased with the progression of dementia, with a significant APC during the first to second year after diagnosis (p < 0.01), except that the frequency of outpatient visits showed a decreasing trend with a significant APC from the first to fifth year. All sex- and age-stratified analyses revealed that male gender and old age contributed to greater use of healthcare services but did not change the overall trend. This study provides a better understanding of medical resource utilization across the full spectrum of dementia, which can allow policymakers, physicians, and caregivers to devise better care plans for PwD.

Predicting in-hospital mortality for dementia patients after hip fracture surgery - A comparison between the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index

BACKGROUND

Considerable in-hospital mortality was reported in geriatric patients with dementia sustaining femoral neck or inter-trochanteric fracture. We intended to establish a predictive model of in-hospital mortality for dementia patients after hip fracture surgery.

METHODS

We collected 8080 registrants ≧ 65 years old from the subset (LHID2000) of the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) that met the following inclusion criteria:1. Admitted with the ICD of hip fracture; 2. Underwent operation of hip fracture during the same hospitalization; 3. Co-existing diagnosis of dementia (ICD-9-CM codes 290). The co-morbidity was recorded according to validated Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI) from the diagnoses of hospitalization. The main outcome measure was in-hospital mortality that was defined as death being reported during hospitalization. The comparison of predictability was conducted by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) among different predictive models.

RESULTS

The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI) score showed similar ability in predicting in-hospital mortality (AUC = 0.653, 95% CI = 0.611-0.695 for CCI; AUC = 0.624, 95% CI = 0.582-0.665 for ECI, p = 0.0717). By adding age grouping (≥80 yrs = 1, 65-80 yrs = 0) and gender difference (Male = 1, Female = 0), these two models were shifted to models CCI_new1 and ECI_new1. Consequently, the AUC greatly increased in the CCI_new1 (AUC = 0.682, 95% CI = 0.643-0.722). It therefore provided better prediction of in-hospital mortality than ECI_new1 (AUC = 0.651, 95% CI = 0.611-0.691) (p = 0.0444).

CONCLUSIONS

Utilizing the CCI with addition of grouping for age and gender provides a better prediction for in-hospital mortality than the ECI among elderly patients with concomitant dementia and hip fracture who underwent surgical intervention.

Detection of Cognitive Impairment Following Critical Illness with the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: A Cohort Study

RATIONALE

Cognitive impairment following critical illness is common in observational studies of older intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. The rate of screening for and diagnosis of cognitive impairment in ICU survivors in non-research settings is unknown.

OBJECTIVES

To determine how often cognitive impairment was detected in older adults in the year following critical illness at an academic medical center as part of (1) the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), and (2) as part of routine clinical care.

METHODS

This study was a retrospective cohort study conducted at an urban academic medical center. The study included 696 patients age 65 and older admitted to the medical ICU between October 1, 2016 and October 1, 2018 and discharged alive. Patients were also required to have a health system affiliated primary care provider. Patients were followed for one year. We defined cognitive impairment detected in the AWV as either an indicated diagnosis of cognitive impairment or dementia, or if the patient, family, or provider indicated memory concerns during the AWV. We modeled the incidence of AWV completion and the detection of cognitive impairment using semi-parametric additive models accounting for the competing risk of death.

RESULTS

Over one-year of follow-up, the cumulative incidence of mortality was 23.0% (95% CI 19.9% to 26.1%), with 24.7% (95% CI 21.5%-27.9%) completing the AWV. The cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment first detected through the AWV was 3.4% (95% CI, 1.8%-5.0%) at 1 year, with a higher cumulative incidence for diagnoses of cognitive impairment or dementia first indicated via encounter diagnosis codes or the EHR problem list, 5.9% (95% CI, 3.9%-7.9%).

CONCLUSION

The results of our study suggest that the currently implemented AWV is unlikely to be an adequate mechanism for detecting cognitive impairment in a high-risk population such as those recovering from critical illness.

The association between caregiver burden, distress, psychiatric morbidity and healthcare utilization among persons with dementia in Singapore

BACKGROUND

Caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) face high caregiving burden, distress related to responsive behaviours, and psychiatric morbidity. The present paper examines how these are associated with healthcare utilization of the PWD in Singapore.

METHODS

The data of 399 caregiver-PWD dyads were extracted from a national cross-sectional survey. PWD completed the Client Service Receipt Inventory, which provided information on their healthcare utilization (i.e. emergency service use, hospital admission, length of stay in hospital, and number of outpatient visits) within a frame of 3 months. The Zarit Burden Interview  (ZBI), Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), and Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) were administered to caregivers. Information on severity of dementia, physical multimorbidity of the PWD, household composition, and caregivers' sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, and education were collected. Variables significantly associated with healthcare utilization in the univariate analyses were selected and included in the final regression models. Emergency service use and hospital admission were investigated using logistic regression analyses, whilst negative binomial models were utilized for length of stay in hospital and number of outpatient visits.

RESULTS

After adjusting for significant correlates such as dementia severity and multimorbidity, only caregiver distress from responsive behaviours was positively associated with emergency room utilization, while caregiver burden was positively associated with length of hospital stay in the final regression model. Psychiatric morbidity was associated with healthcare utilization outcomes at the univariate level but did not reach statistical significance in final models.

CONCLUSION

The study identifies caregiver variables associated with the healthcare utilization of PWD. Policy makers and healthcare professionals should provide interventions to ease burden and distress amongst caregivers of PWD.

The Trend of Aggressive Treatments in End-of-Life Care for Older People With Dementia After a Policy Change in Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the trend of end-of-life healthcare utilization and life-sustaining interventions for older adults with dementia 3 to 4 years after the change in hospice policy.

DESIGN

Population-based retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We used the National Health Insurance Research database of enrolled patients ≥65 years of age diagnosed with dementia who died in 2010-2013 (n = 2062).

METHODS

Aggressive treatments, including healthcare utilization and life-sustaining interventions, were recorded within 6 months of death. Aggressive healthcare utilization included ≥1 emergency department visits, ≥1 hospitalizations, >14 days of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death in an acute care hospital. Life-sustaining interventions were enteral tube, artificial nutrition, blood transfusion, hemodialysis, invasive ventilation, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

RESULTS

Compared with 2010‒2012, 2013 rates significantly decreased for all measures (P < .001). Composite scores of healthcare utilization and life-sustaining treatments in 2013 were significantly lower than for 2010‒2012, after controlling for confounding variables (both P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Older patients with dementia had a trend of reduced healthcare utilization and fewer life-sustaining treatments near the end of life from 2010 to 2013 after a policy change.

Predictors of Mortality in the Oldest Old Patients with Newly Diagnosed Alzheimer Disease in a Residential Aged Care Facility

BACKGROUND

In Taiwan, the causes of death and related factors in the oldest old people with Alzheimer disease (AD) are not well characterized. We investigated the factors associated with mortality in the oldest old patients with newly diagnosed AD admitted to a long-stay residential facility.

METHODS

We performed a prospective study of newly diagnosed AD patients at a veterans' home between 2012 and 2016. At admission, all eligible participants received a comprehensive geriatric assessment, including demographic variables, lifestyle habits, cognitive evaluations, medical conditions (comorbidities, Age-Adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index score, and polypharmacy), nutritional status evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form and body mass index (BMI), and global functional status. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the predictive values of clinical parameters for all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 84 newly diagnosed AD patients (mean age 86.6 ± 3.9 years) with a mean follow-up period of 2.1 ± 1.2 years. The overall median survival was 3.5 years from the time of AD diagnosis (95% confidence interval, 3.1-3.9 years). BMI was significantly lower in the deceased group than in the alive group (20.7 ± 2.9 vs. 22.6 ± 3.4, p = 0.023). Logistic regression demonstrated that the clinical parameters significantly associated with mortality were high global comorbidity, low nutritional status (malnutrition and underweight), and impaired physical function at the time of AD diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Comorbidity burden, nutritional status, and physical functional status at the time of dementia diagnosis are important contributors to poor outcome in the oldest old. Efforts to control concurrent chronic disorders, nutritional interventions, and physical independency as a long-term care strategy for dementia may provide survival benefit.

Differences in service utilization at an urban tribal health organization before and after Alzheimer's disease or related dementia diagnosis: A cohort study

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence, mortality, and healthcare impact of Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are unknown.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study of electronic health record data that compared healthcare service utilization in patients with and without an ADRD diagnosis. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression with robust standard errors was used to estimate utilization rates.

RESULTS

Compared with patients without ADRD, utilization rates were similar before but higher after ADRD diagnosis. For those with diagnosed ADRD, utilization increased gradually over time with sharp upward change during the year of diagnosis.

DISCUSSION

This is the only study quantifying changes in healthcare service utilization before and after ADRD diagnosis among ANAI people, which is crucial for tailoring geriatric care for ANAI populations.

Integrating traditional Chinese medicine healthcare into dementia care plan by reducing the need for special nursing care and medical expenses

Reducing the need for advanced nursing care and medical expenses is an essential concern of dementia care. We investigated the impact of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on advanced nursing care and medical costs.We used Longitudinal Health Insurance Database to implement a cohort study of patients with dementia between 1997 and 2012 in Taiwan. Data from the onset of dementia to 1st advanced nursing care for the endotracheal tube, urinal indwelling catheterization, and nasogastric tube were assessed using Cox regression proportional hazards model, and independent t test was used to determine the difference of hospitalization costs and days. We also used ANOVA test to compare the hospital cost, hospital stay, and numbers according to different duration of TCM.We assessed 9438 new diagnosed patients with dementia without advanced nursing care were categorized into 2 groups: 4094 (43.4%) TCM users, and 5344 (56.6%) non-TCM users. In the TCM groups, 894 (21.8%) patients were declared as advanced nursing care, while 1683 (31.5%) patients were in non-TCM group. Cox proportional hazard regression indicated that using TCM may decrease the need for advanced nursing care (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.61, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.56-0.66) compared to non-TCM. The TCM users have lower hospitalization costs and hospitalization time compared to non-TCM users.Integrating TCM healthcare into dementia care was found to be associated with a lower need for advanced nursing care, hospitalization costs, and admission time with more benefits from longer durations of TCM use.

An Algorithm to Characterize a Dementia Population by Disease Subtype

PURPOSE

Identification of Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) subtypes is important for pharmacologic treatment and care planning, yet inaccuracies in dementia diagnoses make ADRD subtypes hard to identify and characterize. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop a method to categorize ADRD cases by subtype and (2) characterize and compare the ADRD subtype populations by demographic and other characteristics.

METHODS

We identified cases of ADRD occurring during 2008 to 2014 from the OptumLabs Database using diagnosis codes and antidementia medication fills. We developed a categorization algorithm that made use of temporal sequencing of diagnoses and provider type.

RESULTS

We identified 36,838 individuals with ADRD. After application of our algorithm, the largest proportion of cases were nonspecific dementia (41.2%), followed by individuals with antidementia medication but no ADRD diagnosis (15.6%). Individuals with Alzheimer disease formed 10.2% of cases. Individuals with vascular dementia had the greatest burden of comorbid disease. Initial documentation of dementia occurred primarily in the office setting (35.1%).

DISCUSSION

Our algorithm identified 6 dementia subtypes and three additional categories representing unique diagnostic patterns in the data. Differences and similarities between groups provided support for the approach and offered unique insight into ADRD subtype characteristics.

Predicting Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Using Administrative Claims

BACKGROUND

Predictive models for earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) that rely on variables requiring assessment during an office visit, such as cognitive function, body mass index, or lifestyle factors, may not be broadly applicable, since that level of data may be inaccessible or inefficient.

OBJECTIVE

To build a predictive model for earlier diagnosis of ADRD using only administrative claims data to enhance applicability at the health care-system level. Building on the strength of this approach and knowledge that health care utilization (HCU) is increased before dementia diagnosis, it was hypothesized that previous HCU history would improve predictive ability of the model.

METHODS

We conducted a case-control study using data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. ADRD was defined using ICD-9-CM codes and prescription fills for antidementia medications. We included individuals with mild cognitive impairment. Cases aged ≥ 18 years with a diagnosis between 2011-2014 were matched to controls without ADRD. HCU variables were incorporated into regression models along with comorbidities and symptoms.

RESULTS

The derivation cohort comprised 24,521 cases and 95,464 controls. Final adjusted models were stratified by age. We obtained moderate accuracy (c-statistic = 0.76) for the model among younger (aged < 65 years) adults and poor discriminatory ability (c-statistic = 0.63) for the model among older adults (aged ≥ 65 years). Neurological and psychological disorders had the largest effect estimates.

CONCLUSIONS

We created age-stratified predictive models for earlier diagnosis of dementia using information available in administrative claims. These models could be used in decision support systems to promote targeted cognitive screening and earlier dementia recognition for individuals aged < 65 years. These models should be validated in other cohorts.

DISCLOSURES

This research was supported by AstraZeneca, Global CEO Initiative, Janssen, OptumLabs, and Roche. Albrecht was supported by Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research grant K01HS024560. Perfetto is employed by the National Health Council, which accepts membership dues and sponsorships from a variety of organizations and companies. The authors declare no other potential conflicts of interest.

Length of hospital stay and dementia: A systematic review of observational studies

OBJECTIVE

Hospitalizations of people with dementia (PWD) are often accompanied by complications or functional loss and can lead to adverse outcomes. Unsystematic findings suggest an influence of comorbidities on the extent of differences in the length of hospital stay (LOS). This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate all studies reporting LOS in PWD as compared to PwoD in general hospitals.

METHODS

A systematic review of observational studies using PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge. Inclusion criteria comprised original studies written in English or German, assessment of diagnosis of dementia, measurement of LOS, and comparison of people with and without dementia.

RESULTS

Fifty-two of 60 studies reported a longer hospitalization time for PWD compared to PwoD. The extent of the difference in LOS varied between and within countries as well as by type of primary morbidity (eg, injuries, cardiovascular diseases). The range of the LOS difference for studies without restriction to a primary morbidity was -2 to +22 days after matching or adjustment for a variable number and selection of potentially relevant covariates. For studies with injuries/fractures/medical procedures and infectious/vascular disease as the primary morbidity, the range was -2.9 to +12.4 and -11.2 to +21.8 days, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of studies reported a longer hospitalization of PWD compared to PwoD. Length of hospital stay seems to be influenced by a variety of medical, social, organizational factors, including reasons for hospital admission, whose role should be explored in detail in further research.

Increased Health Care Utilization in Dementia Subtypes Before Diagnosis

INTRODUCTION

Prior studies have reported higher health care utilization (HCU) leading up to diagnosis of the Alzheimer disease and related dementia (ADRD), but none have assessed variation in HCU by ADRD subtype or examined disease-specific HCU. The objectives of this study were to identify ADRD subtypes and: (1) characterize all-cause and (2) disease-specific HCU during the 3 years preceding diagnosis, and (3) determine if HCU varied by ADRD subtype.

METHODS

We used data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse 2008 to 2014 to identify ADRD subtypes (total N=36,838) using an algorithm based on temporal sequencing of diagnoses and provider type. Annual counts of all-cause and disease-specific HCU in each of the 3 years preceding ADRD diagnosis were regressed on ADRD subtypes with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as the reference group, year, and other variables.

RESULTS

HCU increased over time, was highest in the outpatient setting, and varied by ADRD subtype. Compared with MCI, highest HCU was observed in vascular and nonspecific dementia. Compared with MCI, most subtypes had elevated disease-specific HCU.

DISCUSSION

Variation in HCU by ADRD subtype points to different pathways to diagnosis and patterns of use.

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients

SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS

ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED

Geographic Clustering of Admissions to Inpatient Psychiatry among Adults with Cognitive Disorders in Ontario, Canada: Does Distance to Hospital Matter?

OBJECTIVE

This study examined relationships among hospital accessibility, socio-economic context, and geographic clustering of inpatient psychiatry admissions for adults with cognitive disorders in Ontario, Canada.

METHOD

A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using admissions data from 71 hospitals with inpatient psychiatry beds in Ontario, Canada between 2011 and 2014. Data included 7,637 unique admissions for 4,550 adults with a DSM-IV diagnosis of Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic and other Cognitive Disorders. Bayesian spatial Poisson regression was employed to examine the relationship between accessibility of general hospitals with psychiatric beds and psychiatric hospitals, area-level marginalization, and hospitalization rate with the risk of admission to inpatient psychiatry among adults with cognitive disorders across 516 Forward Sortation Areas (FSA) in Ontario.

RESULTS

Residential instability and the overall hospitalization rate were significantly associated with an increase in the relative risk of admissions to inpatient psychiatry. Accessibility to general hospitals and psychiatric hospitals were marginally insignificant at the 95% credible interval in the final model. Significant geographic clustering of admissions was identified where individuals residing in FSA's with the highest relative risk were 2.0 to 7.1 times more likely to be admitted to inpatient psychiatry compared to the average.

CONCLUSIONS

Geographic clustering of inpatient psychiatry admissions for adults with cognitive disorders exists across the Province of Ontario, Canada. At the geographic level, the risk of admission was positively associated with residential instability and the overall hospitalization rate, but not distance to the closest general or psychiatric hospital.

Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings. This is important in the context of an acute illness given that the presence of cognitive impairment can have significant implications for care and for the management of concomitant diseases as well as pose a major risk factor for dementia. Participants arrived at general principles to guide future screening approaches in medical populations and identified knowledge gaps to direct future research. Key learning points of the summit included: recognizing the importance of educating patients and healthcare providers about the value of assessing current and baseline cognition;emphasizing that any screening tool must be appropriately normalized and validated in the population in which it is used to obtain accurate information, including considerations of language, cultural factors, and education; andrecognizing the great potential, with appropriate caveats, of electronic health records to augment cognitive screening and tracking of changes in cognitive health over time.

Thiamine for preventing dementia development among patients with alcohol use disorder: A nationwide population-based cohort study

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

Alcohol use disorder is one of the most important factors contributing to dementia. This study examined the protective effect of thiamine administration on the incidence of dementia among patients with alcohol use disorder in Taiwan by evaluating a nationwide database.

METHODS

We retrieved data for this retrospective cohort study from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 1995-2000. Patients receiving thiamine therapy after the diagnosis of alcohol use disorder were recruited as the thiamine therapy (TT) group, and the comparison group without TT (NTT group) included randomly assigned and age-, sex-, and index year-matched individuals with alcohol use disorder. Demographic data, comorbid medical disorders, and psychotropic medication use were evaluated and controlled. The cumulative defined daily dose (DDD) was analyzed to demonstrate the dose effect.

RESULTS

Each group had 5059 patients. The TT group had a lower crude hazard ratio (0.76; 95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.96) of dementia than the NTT group. After adjusting for demographic data, comorbidity, and psychotropic medication use, the adjusted hazard ratio was 0.54 (95% confidence interval: 0.43-0.69). The significance existed among TT subjects with cumulative DDD higher than 23. The Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated a lower cumulative incidence of dementia in the TT group than in the NTT group.

CONCLUSION

The results indicated that thiamine therapy could be a protective factor for dementia development in patients with alcohol use disorder. Thiamine therapy should be a crucial part of the treatment plan and health policies to prevent dementia development or progression among patients with alcohol use disorder.

The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide

INTRODUCTION

The socioeconomic costs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in China and its impact on global economic burden remain uncertain.

METHODS

We collected data from 3098 patients with AD in 81 representative centers across China and estimated AD costs for individual patient and total patients in China in 2015. Based on this data, we re-estimated the worldwide costs of AD.

RESULTS

The annual socioeconomic cost per patient was US $19,144.36, and total costs were US $167.74 billion in 2015. The annual total costs are predicted to reach US $507.49 billion in 2030 and US $1.89 trillion in 2050. Based on our results, the global estimates of costs for dementia were US $957.56 billion in 2015, and will be US $2.54 trillion in 2030, and US $9.12 trillion in 2050, much more than the predictions by the World Alzheimer Report 2015.

DISCUSSION

China bears a heavy burden of AD costs, which greatly change the estimates of AD cost worldwide.

Hospitalization in people with dementia with Lewy bodies: Frequency, duration, and cost implications

Introduction

Increased hospitalization is a major component of dementia impact on individuals and cost, but has rarely been studied in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Our aim was to describe the risk and duration of hospital admissions in patients with DLB, and compare these to those in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the general population.

Methods

A large database of mental health and dementia care in South London was used to assemble a cohort of patients diagnosed with DLB. These were 1:4 matched with patients diagnosed with AD on age, gender, and cognitive status.

Results

Rates of hospital admissions in the year after dementia diagnosis were significantly higher in 194 patients with DLB than in 776 patients with AD (crude incidence rate ratio 1.50; 95% confidence interval: 1.28-1.75) or the catchment population (indirectly standardized hospitalization rate 1.22; 95% confidence interval: 1.06-1.39). Patients with DLB had on average almost four additional hospital days per person-year than patients with AD. Multivariate Poisson regression models indicated poorer physical health early in the disease course as the main driver of this increased rate of hospitalization, whereby neuropsychiatric symptoms additionally explained the higher number of hospital days.

Discussion

Patients with DLB are more frequently admitted to general hospitals and utilize inpatient care to a substantially higher degree than patients with AD or the general elderly population. These data highlight an opportunity to reduce hospital days by identifying DLB earlier and providing more targeted care focused on the specific triggers for hospitalization and associations of prolonged stay.

Comorbidity and dementia: A nationwide survey in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Comorbid medical diseases are highly prevalent in the geriatric population, imposing hardship on healthcare services for demented individuals. Dementia also complicates clinical care for other co-existing medical conditions. This study investigated the comorbidities associated with dementia in the elderly population aged 65 years and over in Taiwan.

METHODS

We conducted a nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional survey; participants were selected by computerized random sampling from all 19 Taiwan counties between December 2011 and March 2013. After exclusion of incomplete or erroneous data, 8,456 subjects were enrolled. Of them, 6,183 were cognitively normal (control group), 1,576 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 697 had dementia. We collected information about types of comorbidities (i.e., vascular risk factors, lung diseases, liver diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancers), Charlson comorbidity index score, and demographic variables to compare subjects with normal cognition, MCI, and dementia.

RESULTS

Regardless of the cognitive condition, over 60% of the individuals in each group had at least one comorbid disease. The proportion of subjects possessing at least three comorbidities was higher in those with cognitive impairment (MCI 20.9%, dementia 27.3%) than in control group (15%). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities. The mean number of comorbidities and Charlson comorbidity index score were greater in MCI and dementia groups than in control group. Logistic regression demonstrated that the comorbidities significantly associated with MCI and dementia were cerebrovascular disease (OR 3.35, CI 2.62-4.28), cirrhosis (OR 3.29, CI 1.29-8.41), asthma (OR 1.56, CI 1.07-2.27), and diabetes mellitus (OR 1.24, CI 1.07-1.44).

CONCLUSION

Multiple medical comorbid diseases are common in older adults, especially in those with cognitive impairment. Cerebrovascular disease, cirrhosis, asthma, and diabetes mellitus are important contributors to cognitive deterioration in the elderly. Efforts to lower cumulative medical burden in the geriatric population may benefit cognitive function.

Combinations of Service Use Types of People With Early Cognitive Disorders

OBJECTIVES

Understanding which persons most likely use particular combinations of service types is important as this could lead to a better understanding of care pathways. The aim of this study is to identify combinations of service use within a sample of community-dwelling people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia and identify factors related to these service use combinations.

METHODS

A latent class analysis performed at baseline on a merged dataset (n = 530) was used to classify care recipients based on following service use types: general practitioner visits, physiotherapist visits, hospital outpatient specialist visits, emergency room visits, hospital inpatient visits with stay over, day care visits, use of domestic homecare, use of personal homecare, and informal care on (instrumental) activities of daily living. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with service use combinations using clinical characteristics of the care recipient and demographic characteristics of the care recipient and caregiver.

RESULTS

Three service use classes were identified; a formal homecare class (10% of participants), an informal care class (46% of participants), and a low user class (44% of participants). Factors increasing the likelihood of being in the formal homecare class compared with the low service use class included a diagnosis of MCI or dementia, activities of daily living impairment, older age of the care recipient, and care recipient not living together with the caregiver.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides a diagnosis of MCI or dementia, other factors (activities of daily living impairment, age, and living situation) were associated with service use. We recommend using these factors alongside the diagnostic label for care indication.

Hospital care and drug costs from five years before until two years after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in a Finnish nationwide cohort

Aims: The aim of our study was to investigate costs related to hospital care and drugs utilizing register-based data from five years before until two years after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a nationwide cohort. Methods: Finnish nationwide MEDALZ cohort includes all incident cases with clinically verified diagnosis of AD diagnosed during 2005–2011. The study population included 70,718 persons with AD and age-, gender- and region-of-residence-matched control persons. Data of medical care costs was derived from the prescription register and hospital discharge register. Costs of hospital care were calculated according to Finnish healthcare system unit costs. Costs in six month periods before and after the diagnosis per person-years were analyzed. Results: Persons with AD had higher mean total medical care costs per person-years starting from 0.5–1 years before the diagnosis of AD and remained at a higher level until two years after the diagnosis. The difference in mean total medical care costs was at its highest at six months after the diagnosis (cost difference €5088). After that, persons with AD had costs that reached approximately double those without AD. Hospital care costs constituted the major share (78–84%) of the total medical care costs in both persons with and without AD, whereas drug costs had a minor role. Increase in drug costs was caused by anti-dementia drugs. Conclusions: Costs of hospital stays constituted the most significant portion of medical care costs for persons with AD. Further research should be focused on the causes of hospitalization periods.