Depression and Functional Mobility Decline in Long Term Care Home Residents with Dementia: a Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective  Assess the association between depression among new long-term care residents (<3 months stay) with dementia and functional mobility decline.  Methods  A multi-site prospective cohort study was carried out among 26 participants diagnosed with dementia. Functional mobility was measured by Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG) and 2-Minute walk test (2MWT) at baseline, and 60-day post-baseline while participants received usual care. Linear mixed models were applied to examine the association between depression and functional mobility decline.  Results  Residents experienced a statistically significant decline in functional mobility in as soon as 60 days. Each additional year of age was associated with a 2% increase in TUG. The interaction between depression and time spent in LTC was statistically significant. Age and time living in LTC were significantly associated with functional mobility decline in new residents with dementia.  Discussion  Further work determining why residents with dementia experience decline in functional mobility at an accelerated rate is needed.