What influences life expectancy in people with dementia? Social support as an emerging protective factor.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of support from the social environment for the life expectancy in people with dementia beyond well-established individual demographic and clinical predictors over a period of up to 8 years. METHODS: The analyses are based on data from 500 community-dwelling individuals in Germany who tested positive for dementia and were followed up for up to 8 years. Life expectancy was examined in relation to perceived social support as well as well-established socio-demographic (age, sex) and clinical predictors (cognitive status, functional status, comorbidities), using Cox regressions. RESULTS: Greater support from the social environment reduced the risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-0.98), with the role of emotional support being particularly important. Furthermore, higher age was associated with an increased mortality risk (HR 1.08; 95% CI 1.05-1.11), while female sex (HR 0.64; 95% CI 0.48-0.85) and higher cognitive (HR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93-0.98) and functional status (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.86-0.97) were associated with higher life expectancy. CONCLUSION: Our study provides novel evidence that less support from the social environment, especially emotional support, is a risk factor for shorter life expectancy in people with dementia-beyond known clinical factors. Not only the clinical and caregiving needs but also their psychosocial needs of individuals with dementia should be emphasised.