Nursing facility residents with behavioral health disorders are more likely to be hospitalized than those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to University of Rochester researchers.
The team reviewed nationwide assessment and claims data for 2014 to 2015 and identified nearly 440,000 hospitalizations for long-stay nursing home residents. Compared to residents without dementia or behavioral health disorders, those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias had a 16% lower risk of preventable hospitalization. They also had at least a 10% lower risk of non-preventable hospitalization, reported corresponding author Helena Temkin-Greener, Ph.D., and colleagues.
Within behavioral health diagnoses, there was no risk difference in preventable versus non-preventable hospitalizations among residents with depression. But there was a lower preventable hospitalization risk for residents with schizophrenia and/or psychosis, and an increased risk of both outcomes among residents with bipolar disorders.
The study was published in the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-term Care Medicine.
