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| Dementia mortality: Estimates of survival after the onset of dementia range from 4 to 12 years | |
Samuel Ravi The Psychotherapy Clinic, Hariharan Flats, 26/1, Arcot Street, T. Nagar, Chennai - 600 017, Tamil Nadu, India. |
A study on influence of type of dementia on mortality reported that the risk ratio was 2.0 (95% confidence interval 1.5-2.7) for Alzheimer's disease and 3.3 (95% confidence interval 2.0-5.3) for vascular dementia. The gender, age, pre-morbid physical conditions, severity of dementia and institutional accommodation seem to have a strong influence on the mortality pattern among patients with dementia. [4],[5],[6] This letter presents observation into the duration, physical co-morbidity, and mortality patterns among patients with dementia".
"Vision Age India, a voluntary organization offers free home care service for patients with dementia; the patients are referred by psychiatrists and neurologists. All the patients had clinical diagnosis made by the respective consultant. The present report is based on an observation of mortality patterns observed in ten demised patients, over a period of six months, among the home care service users. The information was collected in a mortality performa developed for this purpose from the family members".
"The patients were in the age group between 65 and 95 years (mean 74.20, median 74 and SD 8.24); there were four males and six females. Eight person had Alzheimer's disease, one person had vascular dementia, and one person had mixed type of vascular and Alzheimer's disease. It was found that the common causes of death among patients were myocardial infarction, pneumonia, lung infections, and undetected medical complications. The duration of dementia was less than four years in six patients, less than eight years in two patients, and twelve years in two patients. The family members were taking care of all the patients in their residence with part time nursing assistance. The co-morbid conditions were diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hip fracture, thyroid problems, stroke, and epilepsy".
"Vision Age India, a voluntary organization offers free home care service for patients with dementia; the patients are referred by psychiatrists and neurologists. All the patients had clinical diagnosis made by the respective consultant. The present report is based on an observation of mortality patterns observed in ten demised patients, over a period of six months, among the home care service users. The information was collected in a mortality performa developed for this purpose from the family members".
"The patients were in the age group between 65 and 95 years (mean 74.20, median 74 and SD 8.24); there were four males and six females. Eight person had Alzheimer's disease, one person had vascular dementia, and one person had mixed type of vascular and Alzheimer's disease. It was found that the common causes of death among patients were myocardial infarction, pneumonia, lung infections, and undetected medical complications. The duration of dementia was less than four years in six patients, less than eight years in two patients, and twelve years in two patients. The family members were taking care of all the patients in their residence with part time nursing assistance. The co-morbid conditions were diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hip fracture, thyroid problems, stroke, and epilepsy".
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| Ravi S. Dementia mortality: Estimates of survival after the onset of dementia range from 4 to 12 years. Indian J Psychiatry [serial online] 2011 [cited 2011 Jul 4];53:178-9. Available from: http://www.indianjpsychiatry.org/text.asp?2011/53/2/178/82565 |
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