Diabetes Types, Associated Treatments, and Complications

Diabetes Types, Associated Treatments, and Complications

Pneumonia has been identified as the leading cause of death for individuals diagnosed with dementia, accounting for 40% of all dementia-related deaths (____). This is an important issue in the United States, where, according to a study by ­­­­____, 5.4 million individuals have dementia. With the growing population of older Americans, this is an issue that will become more severe in the future.

Type 1 Diabetes

Older adults diagnosed with dementia have hospitalization rates three times greater than their age-matched peers, are more likely to have multiple hospitalizations, and have longer hospital stays (____). The primary cause of hospital-based, dementia-related deaths is pneumonia, an acute respiratory infection (____).

Characteristics of Type 1 Diabetes

Dementia and pneumonia are two separate diagnoses that individually have a significant impact on the lives of older adults, both in regards to quality of life and financial impact. Further investigation into how these two diagnoses interact is warranted and may prove beneficial in maximizing quality of care for older adults diagnosed with dementia.

The purpose of this study is to analyze data of pneumonia-related readmissions of older adults with dementia and compare it to the same data for those without dementia within one hospital system. This study may provide insight into the impact of dementia on pneumonia-related readmissions and may provide foundational information to improve proactive measures and preventative care. Recommendations for hospitals and other health care providers to educate their patients will be given to attempt to reduce the number of pneumonia-related hospital readmissions.

This proposed study will attempt to answer the following questions:

1. What is the pneumonia-related readmission rate for older adults diagnosed with dementia?

2. What factors are most predictive of a pneumonia-related readmission for older adults diagnosed with dementia?

3. How does the pneumonia-related readmission rate for older adults with dementia compare to the pneumonia-related readmission rate for age-matched norms?

Pneumonia produces a high rate of hospital readmissions, reports the ____. A thorough search of the literature revealed several studies that provided baseline knowledge about pneumonia-related readmissions, but none have addressed high-risk sub-populations such as older adults diagnosed with dementia, and there are no studies to date that have addressed predictive factors for high-risk subgroups of the population, such as older adults with dementia. Expanding current research to examine subsets of the population may provide additional information about factors influencing pneumonia-related readmission rates. The increased prevalence and mortality of pneumonia in patients with dementia justifies the need for more information about factors specific to this subset of the population.

Researching current pneumonia-related readmission rates and predictive factors for individuals with dementia may make it possible to 1) determine if individuals with dementia warrant more targeted efforts regarding pneumonia-related readmission risk factors; 2) assess dementia as a predictive factor in pneumonia-related read missions; 3) improve preventative strategies for pneumonia-related read missions for older adults diagnosed with dementia; and 4) expand existing knowledge about the course of pneumonia in patients with dementia.