Hospitalizations of the older adults with and without dementia during the last two years of life: the impact of comorbidity and changes from 2002 to 2017

Background

Multimorbidity creates challenges for care and increases health care utilization and costs. People with dementia often have multiple comorbidities, but little is known about the role of these comorbidities in hospitalizations.

Aims

This study examines the frequency of hospitalizations during the last two years of life in older adults with and without dementia, the impact of comorbidities on hospitalizations, and their time trends.

Methods

The data came from national registers and covered all persons 70 and above who died in Finland in 2002–2017. The effect of dementia and comorbidities on hospitalizations in the last two years of life was determined using binary logistic regression and negative binomial regression.

Results

At all levels of comorbidity, people with dementia were less likely to be hospitalized and had a lower number of hospitalizations than people at the same level of comorbidity but no dementia. Hospitalizations were strongly associated with multimorbidity. During the study period, the overall hospitalization rates from home and LTC have declined.

Discussion

The declining trend of hospitalization during the 15-year study period should be interpreted in the context of the health and long-term care system.

Conclusion

Among people with dementia, comorbidities were the main driver for hospitalizations. Regardless of the number of comorbidities, people with dementia were hospitalized less often than people without dementia in last two years of life. It remains unclear whether the lower hospitalization rate is due to the improved ability to care for people with dementia outside the hospital or to the lack of sufficient medical care for them.