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The Demented Elderly in the City of Helsinki: Functional Capacity and Placement
Author(s) -
Juva Kati,
Sulkava Raimo,
Erkinjuntti Timo,
Valvanne Jaakko,
Tilvis Reijo
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb01805.x
Subject(s) - dementia , medicine , clinical dementia rating , gerontology , rating scale , population , activities of daily living , psychiatry , psychology , disease , environmental health , developmental psychology , pathology
Objective To study prevalence, functional capacity, and placement of demented patients in a randomly selected population. Design Survey. Setting Random sample from population registry of the City of Helsinki. Participants Nine hundred subjects aged 75 years, 80 years and 85‐years, 300 in each group. Measurements For each participant, we completed a questionnaire for the subject and an informant and a functional‐capacity scale and Mini‐Mental Status Examination by a community nurse, including the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Subjects with CDR of 0.5 or greater were examined by a neurologist who diagnosed the presence or absence of dementia according to DSM‐III‐R. Results Ninety‐three subjects of the 656 whose CDR was known were found to have dementia. Three‐quarters of them lived in institutions, and they comprised 33%, 60%, and 68% of all institutionalized patients in the above‐mentioned age groups, respectively. Community residents suffering from dementia often lived with a caring relative and needed many services. A considerable part of the need was not met. Conclusions In the older age groups, the need for institutional placement due to dementia is great. According to our study, it seems unlikely that these patients could be cared for in any other way, at least not on a large scale. The need for services for home‐dwelling patients is also great, and the relatives carry a heavy load in taking care of demented patients.