Seems like an odd combination, no? Dementia and the flu.
Researchers from the Tufts University School of Medicine found that there may indeed be a connection between dementia and the flu… and it’s not a good one. Seniors with dementia seem to be diagnosed with the flu less often. They have shorter hospital stays if they are diagnosed with the flu, and are more likely to die from the flu or complications of the flu than seniors without dementia.
The research team looked at five years of data from the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. That data included millions of hospitalization records for adults over the age of sixty-five. Out of six million records for people with pneumonia or influenza, around thirteen percent also suffered from dementia.
So why did dementia cause problems? Early diagnosis of the flu can be difficult in dementia patients who have difficulty communicating. It may simply be hard to talk about the symptoms a patient is experiencing, even if they do manage to get to see a doctor or health care professional! Also, a person with dementia who does not have a full-time caretaker may simply not take good care of themselves. They may have trouble sleeping, may not eat regularly or prepare healthy meals, or may try to self-medicate when symptoms arise.
Researchers admitted that the increased risk of death from the flu for people with dementia may also boil down to inadequate access to health care — or a lack of access to quality health care. The people caring for a person with dementia need to be on the watch for symptoms of major health issues like flu or pneumonia. They can’t just go through the motions and assume the patient is just fine.
The study showed that those dementia patients who lived the farthest from health care services (for example, people in extremely rural areas) were most likely to die from pneumonia or flu.
So what can we do to protect seniors with dementia from serious illness? Caretaker watchfulness is a good start. Make sure seniors are vaccinated against illnesses if at all possible. A flu vaccine, for example, could prevent there being a problem. Work on alternate communication methods for dementia patients who have difficulty talking — perhaps they could write notes or use a keyboard, or have a friend or family member speak for them.