Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of elderly people with dementia in Belize nursing homes

Abstract

Introduction: Institutionalized elderly people with dementia show a greater severity in the course of dementia and usually present a higher comorbidity than those living in the community, hence the importance of knowing the main characteristics of the condition and its comprehensive assessment. Objective: Characterize the population of elderly people with dementia in the Sister Cecelia home and Golden Haven home in Belize City in terms of clinical epidemiological variables as a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Methods: A descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional study was carried out in the period from July to December 2023. Results: 28% of the residents had dementia; 63% were female and 50% were in the 80-89 age group. Hypertension, accounting 68%, followed by diabetes mellitus with 36.3%, were the predominant comorbidities. Concerning to geriatric syndromes, the most frequent was polypharmacy (81.8%). Conclusions: A predominance of the female sex and the age group from 80-89 years was found. The most common chronic diseases were hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The most prevalent geriatric syndromes were polypharmacy and frailty. The largest number of elderly were dependent and predominantly isolated.  To update national dementia statistics, to conduct comprehensive geriatric assessment, as well as to perform staff intervention studies, is recommended.