Predictors of mortality in nursing home residents

A prospective cohort study was conducted to examine predictors of mortality in the nursing home. Participants were 399 long-term nursing home resident s, who were followed up for 11 years at the end of which 380 had died, 16 w ere still alive, 2 were discharged with unknown status, and 1 was alive whe n discharged. The median duration from baseline to death was 2.75 years. Fo r cognitively intact residents, male gender, larger number of medical diagn oses, and manifestations of physically nonagressive agitated behaviors (e.g ., restlessness, pacing) were significant predictors. For cognitively impai red residents, the significant predictors were older age, impaired activiti es of daily living, and screaming behavior at a high frequency. Cognitive i mpairment is important both in predicting death in this population and in u nderstanding the impact of other predictors. The impact of agitated behavio rs, quality of social relations, and appetite on mortality highlights issue s of quality of life at the end of life. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.