Background: Studies have reported that moderate/severe stages of dementia are linked to increased hospitalization rates, but little is known about the influence of incipient dementia on hospitalizations for primary care sensitive conditions (PCSCs).
Objective: To examine the associations between incipient dementia and hospitalization outcomes, including all-cause and PCSC hospitalization.
Methods: A total of 2,268 dementia-free participants in the Swedish National study on Aging and Care-Kungsholmen were interviewed and clinically examined at baseline. Participants aged ≥78 years were followed for 3 years, and those aged 60-72 years, for 6 years. Number of hospitalizations was retrieved from the National Patient Register. Dementia was diagnosed in accordance with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria. Hospitalization outcomes were compared in participants who did and did not develop dementia. Zero-inflated Poisson regressions and logistic regressions were used in data analysis.
Results: During the follow-up, 175 participants developed dementia. The unadjusted PCSC admission rate was 88.2 per 1000 person-years in those who developed dementia and 25.6 per 1000 person-years in those who did not. In the fully adjusted logistic regression model, incipient dementia was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for PCSCs (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-3.9) but not with the number of hospitalizations or with all-cause hospitalization. Risks for hospitalization for diabetes, congestive heart failure, and pyelonephritis were higher in those who developed dementia than in those who did not. About 10% participants had a PCSC hospitalization attributable to incipient dementia.
Conclusion: People with incipient dementia are more prone to hospitalization for PCSCs but not to all-cause hospitalization.
Keywords: Dementia; hospitalization longitudinal follow-up; population based study.