Many older people relocate after dementia diagnosis

A new diagnosis of Alzheimer's or other dementia often spurs a person to move from their home, new research shows.

"One possible explanation is that individuals with dementia and their caregivers may choose to move closer to family or informal caregivers, either with independent housing arrangements or entering formal long-term care services," wrote a team led by Momotazur Rahman , an associate professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open .

The researchers used Medicare data on the residential histories of over 1.6 million Medicare beneficiaries. All had received a diagnosis of either dementia, heart attack, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or colon cancer in 2016.

Each person's domicile (including nursing homes) was tracked over the eight years before and after the 2016 diagnosis -- 2012 through 2020.

In the four years before a dementia diagnosis, there was no difference observed in where people lived or whether they relocated, the study found.

However, within the four years of a dementia diagnosis, 22% of people moved to a different U.S. county, Rahman's group found. That's a 40% jump in relocations compared to folks who'd been diagnosed with other conditions, such as heart attack or COPD.

People with a dementia diagnosis were also more likely to move to another state, the study found. In most cases, they simply moved to another house, rather than to a nursing home.

"Our findings illuminate the profound impact that a dementia diagnosis can have on an individual's residential choices, challenging traditional conceptions of aging in place and adding depth to our understanding of the interplay between health and migration," the researchers said in a American Psychiatric Association news release.

The new data could have implications for aging populations.

"As the global population ages and dementia prevalence increases, it becomes crucial for policymakers and communities to recognize and address the unique migration patterns and needs of individuals with this life-altering condition," they wrote.

More information

Find out more about dementia at the Alzheimer's Society .

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