Hospital Stays Are Common for Dementia Sufferers

From Fisher Center:  (click for full article)

People with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are much more likely to be hospitalized for a range of illnesses than those without dementia, a new study finds. And in many cases, the hospitalizations could have been prevented.

The findings are concerning since a visit to the hospital is especially disorienting for anyone with dementia and can lead to disorientation, falls and other problems that complicate medical care. Even a short hospital visit may lead to a prolonged stay and hasten physical and cognitive decline in someone with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Nonelective hospitalization of older people, particularly those with dementia, is not a trivial event,” wrote the authors of a study from the University of Washington in Seattle. The findings appeared in The Journal of the American Medical Association.