Incidence of and Risk Factors for Missing Events Due to Wandering in Community-dwelling Older People with Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Abstract BackgroundThe burden of missing incidents is not only on the person with dementia, but also on their family, neighbors, and community. The extent to which dementia-related wandering and missing incidents occur in the community has not been evaluated thoroughly in the published literature. Therefore, we evaluated the incidence of and risk factors for missing events due to wandering.MethodsWe conducted a non-randomized prospective one-year follow-up cohort study based on symptom registration with missing events due to wandering as the endpoint. In the first consultation, 374 patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their caregivers who visited the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Japan were included. The incidence and recurrence rate of missing events were calculated. Participants were divided into (those with) dementia and (those with) MCI. Patients' basic and medical information was documented at baseline and after one year of follow-up. Furthermore, analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis were performed to clarify the risk factors associated with the missing event.ResultsAmong the 236 patients with dementia enrolled, 65 (27·5%) had a previous missing event at baseline, and 28 had a missing event during the one-year follow-up period (recurrence rate of 43·1%). Of the 171 who did not have a previous missing event at baseline, 23 had a missing event during the one-year follow-up period (incidence rate of 13·5%). The scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale (DBD), and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) were statistically significant as the risk factors for the incidence of wandering leading to a missing event (p<0·05).ConclusionsPrevention of missing event due to wandering requires focused attention on changes in the MMSE, DBD, ADAS scores, and the development of a social environment to support family caregivers.