Association between days spent at home and functional status and health among persons living with dementia.

BACKGROUND: Many persons living with dementias (PLWD) prefer to remain at home as long as possible, and days spent at home (DAH)-defined as the time an individual spends outside of healthcare facilities-has emerged as a person-centred outcome measure in this population. We examined the association between DAH and functional status and health among PLWD. METHODS: Utilizing a nationally representative cohort of individuals age 65 and older in the United States with dementia from the 2010-2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we assessed the relationship between an ordinal categorical DAH variable and number of activities of daily living (ADLs) (range 0-10; 10 being independent), mobility (0-5; 5 being mobile), and self-rated health (SRH) (0-4; 4 being excellent), controlling for patient characteristics. DAH was defined as the number of self-reported days spent outside a hospital or nursing home in the time between survey waves, typically 730 days. RESULTS: We identified 3002 participants (4192 observations, average 1.4 observations per participant). The mean DAH was 704.4 days (SD 10.8 days) and 64.9% spent all days at home (i.e. 730 days). A 2-week decrease in DAH was associated with a lower ADL score by 0.32 points (95% confidence internal [CI]: 0.24-0.40, P-for-trend<0.001), a lower mobility score by 0.18 points (95% CI: 0.13-0.22, P-for-trend<0.001), and a lower SRH by 0.05 points (95% CI: 0.02-0.08, P-for-trend<0.001). CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that DAH is positively associated with important patient-reported outcomes among the dementia population, strengthening the argument for considering DAH as a meaningful outcome measure for PLWD.

Pragmatic implementation of comprehensive dementia care management: The Cedars-Sinai C.A.R.E.S. Program preliminary data.

BACKGROUND: The United States faces a growing challenge with over 6.5 million people living with dementia (PLwD). PLwD and their caregivers struggle with cognitive, functional, behavioral, and psychosocial issues. As dementia care shifts to home settings, caregivers receive inadequate support but bear increasing responsibilities, leading to higher healthcare costs. In response, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Guiding an Improving Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model. The study explores the real-world implementation of the Cedars-Sinai C.A.R.E.S. Program, a pragmatic dementia care model, detailing its recruitment process and initial outcomes. METHODS: The Cedars-Sinai C.A.R.E.S. Program was integrated into the Epic electronic health record system and focused on proactive patient identification, engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, care transitions, and ongoing care management. Eligible patients with a dementia diagnosis were identified through electronic health record and invited to join the program. Nurse practitioners with specialized training in dementia care performed comprehensive assessments using the CEDARS-6 tool, leading to personalized care plans developed in consultation with primary care providers. Patients benefited from a multidisciplinary team and support from care navigators. RESULTS: Of the 781 eligible patients identified, 431 were enrolled in the C.A.R.E.S. PROGRAM: Enrollees were racially diverse, with lower caregiver strain and patient behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) severity compared to other programs dementia care programs. Healthcare utilization, including hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) admissions, and urgent care visits showed a downward trend over time. Completion of advanced directives and Physician Order of Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) increased after enrollment. CONCLUSION: The Cedars-Sinai C.A.R.E.S. Program offers a promising approach to dementia care. Its real-world implementation demonstrates the feasibility of enrolling a diverse population and achieving positive outcomes for PLwD and their caregivers, supporting the goals of national dementia care initiatives.

Blood pressure variability supersedes heart rate variability as a real-world measure of dementia risk.

Blood pressure variability (BPV) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been associated with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) in rigorously controlled studies. However, the extent to which BPV and HRV may offer predictive information in real-world, routine clinical care is unclear. In a retrospective cohort study of 48,204 adults (age 54.9 ± 17.5 years, 60% female) receiving continuous care at a single center, we derived BPV and HRV from routinely collected clinical data. We use multivariable Cox models to evaluate the association of BPV and HRV, separately and in combination, with incident ADRD. Over a median 3 [2.4, 3.0] years, there were 443 cases of new-onset ADRD. We found that clinically derived measures of BPV, but not HRV, were consistently associated with incident ADRD. In combined analyses, only patients in both the highest quartile of BPV and lowest quartile of HRV had increased ADRD risk (HR 2.34, 95% CI 1.44-3.81). These results indicate that clinically derived BPV, rather than HRV, offers a consistent and readily available metric for ADRD risk assessment in a real-world patient care setting. Thus, implementation of BPV as a widely accessible tool could allow clinical providers to efficiently identify patients most likely to benefit from comprehensive ADRD screening.