Loading...
Recent reports suggest that both elder self-neglect and elder abuse are increasingly common. To assess how these conditions affect mortality, a prospective, population-based study was conducted among 9318 people (age, ≥65; mean age, 73; 63% black) in three adjacent Chicago neighborhoods.
From 1993 to 2005, social service agencies received reports of self-neglect for 1544 participants and of abuse for 113; these people were more likely to be older, female, black, and to have lower income and less education. During a median follow-up of 7 years, 4306 deaths occurred. In adjusted analyses, risk for death in the first year after reported self-neglect was 5 times higher than for those without reported self-neglect. After the first year, risk decl…