Lower mortality of demented nursing home residents. A two-year survival study.

The mortality of 318 patients residing permanently in a nursing home was analyzed over two years in a retrospective study. Survival analysis showed that age was significantly associated with increased mortality, and dementia with decreased mortality. The results may to some extent explain the large percentage of demented patients in nursing homes, and provide some support for the hypothesis that demented patients accumulate in the nursing homes, partly due to inappropriate community services for these patients, leading to a relatively early institutionalization.