Predictors of mortality in nursing home residents with advanced dementia

Abstract

This analysis uses data from the Care of Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia (CareAD) study to investigate which factors increase the risk of death in patients who are in the advanced stages of dementia. The hypothesis of this analysis was that specific illnesses with known high mortality would be associated with increased risk of death in the population of nursing home residents with advanced dementia, after controlling for demographic variables and disease-stage variables. Baseline data on 123 end-stage dementia nursing home residents were analyzed with a Cox proportional hazards regression. Of the comorbidities studied, pneumonia was the only illness significantly associated with shortened survival. This information can help health care professionals assist surrogate decision makers in making medical decisions regarding the treatment of comorbid medical illness in persons with advanced dementia. © 2010 The Author(s).