People diagnosed with dementia are living longer, global study shows
Earlier diagnosis and better care may lead to lower risk of death than in previous years following dementia diagnosis, researchers found
A person diagnosed with dementia has improved survival outcomes in recent years听amid significant progress in dementia diagnosis and care, according to a recent multinational study led by a University of 蓝莓视频 researcher.鈥听
The study analyzed data from more than 1.2 million people over the age of 60 living with dementia in eight global regions between 2000 and 2018. It found that in five of those regions, including Ontario, a lower risk of death听exists today than in previous years.鈥听
鈥淒ementia is a global public health priority,鈥 said Dr. Hao Luo,听assistant professor听in听the听School of Public Health Sciences and lead author of the study. 鈥淯nderstanding how survival among people living with dementia varies over time and across health systems听can help policy makers assess its real-world impact on health and social care services.鈥鈥
She said the increase in听survival probability is likely due to factors such as progress in dementia prevention and care in recent years, as well as more effective drug treatments and psychosocial interventions听tailored to听an听individual鈥檚 needs.鈥听
鈥淜nowledge of survival after the diagnosis of dementia is important for people living with dementia and their family members for making informed decisions about the subsequent care arrangement, for clinicians to improve their prognosis and care for people living with dementia and for policy makers to improve estimation of the real-world disease burden currently carried by health systems,鈥 Luo said.鈥听
Of the eight regions in the study (Ontario, United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Finland,听Germany听and New Zealand), only New Zealand showed an increase in the risk of death following the first hospital record of dementia diagnosis. Data from Finland and Germany were inconclusive.鈥听
The above image shows the median number of years people lived after being diagnosed with dementia, shown by age group and country.
鈥淲e were surprised to observe a steady increase in mortality risk in New Zealand between 2014 and 2018,鈥 Luo said. 鈥淲e later found that this coincided with a national effort to shift the diagnosis and management of uncomplicated dementia to primary care to free up specialist services. With greater involvement of primary care, people living with dementia are more likely to present to hospitals at a more advanced stage of the disease, leading to a higher risk of mortality following the first hospital record of dementia diagnosis.鈥濃听
The consistently听observed听decrease in mortality risk across five of the regions accounted for 84 per听cent of all participants. Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Taiwan,听Finland听and Germany have national dementia strategies already in place or in development.听
Luo said her future research will look at the role comorbidities play.听鈥淭辞听analyze听multinational data using a听standardized听approach, some compromises were made, including not accounting for the impact of comorbid conditions on dementia survival,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ne of my future research directions is to understand the patterns of comorbidity and how comorbidities affect survival among persons with dementia.鈥听
听The study,听, was听recently published in听Communications Medicine.鈥