THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREMORBID LIFE-STYLE AND WANDERING BEHAVIORSIN INSTITUTIONALIZED PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA

Forty-nine ambulatory residents participated in a study conducted to d etermine the relationship between premorbid life-style, work, and ways of handling stress, and wandering in dementia units. The sample consi sted of 23 males and 26 females with a mean age of 79. Family members responded to open-ended questionnaires that asked about premorbid leis ure activities, hobbies, exercise, stress management, type of employme nt and social interactions. Activities were ranked according to energy expended on the Metabolic Cost of Activities (MET) Scale. No activity equaled Inactive (0); 1.5-2 METS equaled Mildly Active (1), 2-3 METS equaled Moderately Active (2), and 3-4 METS equaled Very Active (3). S ubjects were observed three times for one-hour intervals on each of th ree shifts (day, evening, night) at randomly selected times to assess wandering behavior. Behavior was logged every five minutes. The subjec ts' most frequent conditions were awake (21%), alone (20%), and in the ir own rooms (17%). Twenty-four (50%) Of the subjects were observed pa cing, and 16 (33%) were agitated/restless at some point in time. Stati stical analyses showed no significant correlations between premorbid l ife-style variable rankings and the amount of time spent standing, wal king and pacing. The findings suggest that wandering behavior is not i nfluenced by premorbid life-styles. (C) 1997, Editrice Kurtis.