Memory Designation Does Not Lower Risk of Injury Among Residents With Alzheimer Disease

Among assisted living residents with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD), visits to the emergency department for injuries were not significantly lower for those who lived in facilities with memory care designation compared with general assisted living, according to study results published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

“Injury-related emergency department visits are common among assisted living residents with ADRD and residents in memory care, but residents in memory care assisted living experienced similar risks of injury as those in general assisted living,” wrote corresponding author Cassandra L Hua, PhD, and coauthors from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Rhode Island Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.

The study included 116,754 Medicare beneficiaries who lived in assisted living facilities across 20 states in 2018.

The adjusted risk of emergency department use for injuries was 20.1% for residents with ADRD, according to the study, and 16.1% for residents without ADRD. For injury-related emergency department use ending in hospitalization, the adjusted risk was 4.9% for residents with ADRD and 3.9% for residents without ADRD.

Researchers found no significant associations between memory care licensure and injury-related emergency department visits among residents with ADRD.

“Further research should identify modifiable factors that can prevent injury among assisted living residents with ADRD,” they advised.

Reference:
Hua CL, Cornell PY, White EM, Thomas KS. Injury-related emergency department use among assisted living residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online December 26, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.18207