BMC geriatrics
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Multicenter Study
A 52 month follow-up of functional decline in nursing home residents - degree of dementia contributes.
Few have studied how personal activities of daily living (P-ADL) develop over time in nursing home residents with dementia. Thus, the aim was to study variables associated with the development of P-ADL functioning over a 52-month follow-up period, with a particular focus on the importance of the degree of dementia. ⋯ P-ADL functioning in nursing home patients with dementia worsened over time. The worsening was associated with more severe dementia, higher physical comorbidity, agitation, apathy and no use of anxiolytics and antidementia medication. Clinicians should pay attention to these variables (associates) in order to help the nursing home residents with dementia to maintain their level of functioning for as long as possible.