Alzheimer Dementia: People who are wandering and helpless have a higher risk of dementia

It is estimated that 7% of veterans suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementia (AD/ADRD)
.

Veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder have a higher incidence

Veterans with insecure housing may be particularly susceptible to AD/ADRD
.

Nearly 60% of veterans who experience homelessness are older than 50 years, and age is the main risk factor for AD/ADRD

Over time, patients with AD/ADRD will lose the ability to live independently
.

Generally speaking, AD/ADRD patients receive most of the long-term care from their spouses, children, and other family/friends, and homeless veterans may not have a family network willing to provide long-term care

Although formal long-term care in the community (such as skilled home care) can help patients with AD/ADRD provide for the elderly in the community, many of these services are provided at home
.

Without family/friend care support and stable housing, veterans suffering from AD/ADRD with insecure housing may encounter difficulties in living safely in the community

The U.
S.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has many resources to support veterans with insecure housing and aging
.

For example, VA cooperates with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to provide eligible veterans with housing vouchers, case management and other supporting clinical services

manage

Although veterans with insecure housing are aging, little is known about their AD/ADRD prevalence, which can help plan and allocate VA resources to meet the needs of vulnerable veterans
.

In this way, Eric Jutkowitz and others of Brown University (1) assessed the prevalence of AD/ADRD diagnosis among veterans who had experienced homelessness, were likely to experience homelessness, or had stable housing in 2018 ;
(2) Check the relationship between housing conditions and the number of emergency department visits, the number of hospitalizations and the number of hospitalizations in psychiatric hospitals among veterans with AD/ADRD diagnoses, as well as the use of any nursing homes and community long-term care services
.

diagnosis

They hypothesized that: veterans with insecure housing have more AD/ADRD comorbidities and risk factors; compared with veterans with stable housing, veterans with insecure housing have AD/ADRD diagnoses and use more acute And institutional care, but less use of long-term care services in the community
.

They calculated the prevalence of AD/ADRD diagnosis among veterans who experienced homelessness, was at risk of homelessness, or had stable housing in 2018
.

The use of acute care (emergency department, hospitalization, psychiatric hospitalization) and any long-term care (nursing homes and communities) is determined based on the housing status of veterans with AD/ADRD diagnoses

They found that: the total prevalence of AD/ADRD diagnoses for veterans who are homeless, at risk, and with stable housing are 3.

66%, 13.
48%, and 3.
04%, respectively

Compared with veterans with stable housing, veterans with AD/ADRD with unsafe housing used more acute care, and they were more likely to enter nursing homes
.

Veterans who are at risk but homeless are more likely to use community care than veterans who have a stable home
.

The significance of this study is that it has found that among veterans with insecure housing, the prevalence of AD/ADRD diagnosis is higher than that of veterans with stable housing
.

Among veterans with insecure housing, the prevalence of AD/ADRD diagnosis is higher than that of veterans with stable housing
.

 

Original source:
Jutkowitz E, Halladay C, Tsai J, et al.
Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among veterans experiencing housing insecurity.
Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Published online November 10, 2021:alz.
12476.
doi:10.
1002/alz.
12476

Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among veterans experiencing housing insecurity.
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