Longitudinal study of death and institutionalization in patients with primary degenerative dementia.

We studied the outcome of 101 patients with primary degenerative dementia. The patients were outpatients at the time of the initial evaluation, and all had family caregivers. There were substantial differences in mortality and institutionalization between the mild and advanced patients, as defined by scores on mental status examination. Similar differences in those two outcomes were also evident when the patients were stratified by scores on activities of daily living and disruptive behavior assessments. Thus, certain patient characteristics may be of value in predicting risk for institutionalization and death.