Depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment predict all-cause mortality in long-term care residents.

This study investigated whether symptoms of depression and cognitive dysfunction predicted all-cause mortality in long-term care (LTC) residents at 12 months after admission. Participants were 171 adults with a mean age of 77 in an urban LTC setting (51% African American and 49% European American). The Geriatric Depression Scale and the Dementia Rating Scale, Second Edition (DRS-2), were administered upon admission, and demographic variables and the Charlson Comorbidity Index were also recorded. Cox regression analyses found that increased depressive symptoms, lower performance on the DRS-2, and European American ethnicity were significant predictors of all-cause mortality. The overall results suggest that the combination of cognitive dysfunction and depressive symptoms can increase the chances of 12-month, all-cause mortality in LTC settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).