Abstract

A hallmark of end-of-life (EOL) is reduced functional ability. However, the impact of dementia and other comorbidities on EOL decline for older adults is less well understood. We estimated the effect of having dementia and comorbidities on activity of daily living (ADL) scores using the 2000-2012 Health and Retirement Study. We identified 5,853 people over age 65 who died and predicted monthly ADL impairments in the last 4 years of life controlling for dementia and other characteristics. Stroke and obesity were associated with significantly higher ADL scores, regardless of dementia status. However, if both dementia and either stroke or obesity were present, dementia was associated with significantly higher ADL scores approximately 1-4 years before death. Functional decline occurred closer to death if they had these conditions and no dementia. Differences in function when patients have dementia and comorbidities may affect understanding of survival time and access to appropriate care.

Details

Title
Functional Trajectories for People With Dementia and Other Comorbidities in the Last Years of Life
Author
Broyles, Ila 1 ; Palmer, Lauren 2 ; Graf, Emily 3 ; Li, Qinghua 4 ; Feng, Zhanlian 4 ; Lamont, Helen 5 ; Dey, Judith 5 ; Oliveira, Iara 5 

 RTI International, RTI International, North Carolina, United States 
 RTI International, RTI International, Massachusetts, United States 
 UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States 
 RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States 
 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Washington, District of Columbia, United States 
Pages
156-157
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
23995300
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3223082590
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.