CARE FOR DEMENTED PATIENTS IN DIFFERENT LIVING-CONDITIONS

Objective - To assess if and how demented patients' living conditions affect their level of functioning. Design - A prospective concurrent control-study. Setting - Sundsvall, an industrial community in the middle of Sweden. Participants - Forty-six demented patients in group-living (GL-group) and 62 controls (C-group). Main outcome measure - Cognitive function, ADL-capacity and behaviour were measured every third month during one year. Results - Both groups deteriorated, but the decline was significantly slower in the GL-group regarding some ADL-functions, e.g. dressing and motor functions, whereas some behavioural disturbances were significantly more frequent in the GL-group. No differences were observed regarding the level of cognitive function. Conclusion - The living condition has small effects on cognitive function and ADL-capacity. The behavioural disturbances observed in GL should be the focus of future research.