Long-Term Care

Does nursing home admission hasten Alzheimer’s?

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, June 28, 2007

A study appearing in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychology suggests that placing those who have Alzheimer's disease in a nursing home hastens the progression of the disease. Researchers followed 432 Alzheimer's patients over the course of four years, all of whom were originally at home, reported the Washington Post. Cognitive abilities declined in all study participants, but the 155 patients who were admitted to nursing homes showed a faster rate of cognitive decline.

About half of the 432 participated in some form of adult day care, and those who participated three to four times a week did not show increased rates of decline if they were later admitted to a nursing home.

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