Survival and risk factors for mortality in elderly patients with dementia

Abstract

Purpose of review Many studies related to survival and risk factors for mortality in patients with dementia were published in the last year. These studies were most important social and economic issues, because a larger proportion of the elderly will require social services and care and higher costs will be associated with such services and care in the near future. Current knowledge about the survival and risk factors of mortality for dementia was reviewed. Recent findings For survival of patients with dementia, several recent studies showed a shorter period from the onset of dementia than that of previous studies. Regarding the risks of mortality in patients with dementia, most of the studies reported that comorbid physical illnesses were related to excess mortality. Also, the severity of dementia and occurrence of delirium may be related to mortality. Moreover, male gender was constantly found to be a risk factor for mortality. Not only dementia but also cognitive impairment may be related to excess mortality, and one study showed even a mild level of impairment to be related. Depression is known to be associated with increased mortality, but there may be differences between the types of depression (psychotic or neurotic) and between men and women. Summary A number of factors are associated with the excess mortality observed in elderly patients with dementia. However, some factors are at least partly treatable or manageable. Possible directions for future approaches to extending life expectancy in the elderly are based on these findings.