Updated Systematic Review on Prognostic Factors for 6-months Mortality in Older People with Dementia

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and functional impairment. Appropriate resource allocation and personalized care planning for individuals with dementia require the identification of prognostic indicators of impending mortality. This updated systematic review evaluated prognostic indicators of 6-month mortality among individuals with dementia. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, was conducted to identify studies published through July 31, 2024, and five studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. Across these studies, six-month mortality predictors were identified in four categories: nutrition-related factors (including feeding route, > 25% reduction in nutrient intake, and low albumin level), pressure injuries (including severe pressure injuries and number of pressure ulcers), oxygen use, and pneumonia-related factors (including pneumonia diagnosis and aspiration pneumonia). This review highlights factors with the potential to predict 6-month mortality among people with dementia and emphasizes the need for further research to validate these findings, standardize prognostic variable reporting, and address current data variability.