Centre for Policy on Ageing



Dementia in the acute hospital — prospective cohort study of prevalence and mortality
Author(s)	Elizabeth L Sampson, Martin R Blanchard, Louise Jones
Journal title	British Journal of Psychiatry, vol 195, no 1, July 2009
Pages	pp 61-66
Source	http://bjp.rcpsych.org
Keywords	Dementia ; Death rate [statistics] ; Admission [hospitals] ; Accident & emergency depts ; Longitudinal surveys.
Annotation	A longitudinal cohort study of 617 people (aged over 70) investigated the prevalence of dementia in older people undergoing emergency medical admission and its effect on outcomes. The main outcome was mortality risk during admission. Of the cohort, 42.4% had dementia (only half diagnosed prior to admission). In men aged 70-79, dementia prevalence was 16.4%, rising to 48.8% of those aged over 90. In women, 29.6% aged 70-79 had dementia, rising to 75.0% aged over 90. Urinary tract infection or pneumonia was the principal cause of admission in 41.3% of the people with dementia. These individuals had markedly higher mortality; 24.0% of those with severe cognitive impairment died during admission (adjusted mortality risk 4.02, 95% CI 2.24-7.36). The rising prevalence of dementia will have an impact on acute hospitals. Extra resources will be required for intermediate and palliative care and mental health liaison services. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-090902220 A
Classmark	EA: S5: LD:QKH: LD6: 3J
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.