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Lifespan for Those With Dementia

According to a study performed by the British Medical Journal, women on average live 4.6 years and men on average live 4.1 years after the initial onset of their dementia.

  1. The Study

    • The study, which was performed over 14 years and surveyed more than 13,000 elderly people, found that of those with dementia, about half of them had died after four and a half years of having the disease.

    Factors

    • Women tend to live longer with dementia than men do, just as they do in the general population. The study found that age upon receiving the diagnosis was the most important factor; those diagnosed around 65 tended to live about a decade, whereas those diagnosed in their 80s succumbed more quickly. Of course, the care that those with dementia receive also contributes to their lifespan -- those in homes or with families had a better mental and physical health, and lived longer.

    Other Considerations

    • Frailer individuals are at higher risk to die sooner, regardless of age, suggesting that dementia does take a physical toll on the brain and body and contributes to quicker death. The more educated of the group had a slightly shorter survival than those with less education. Social class seemed to play no role in survival rate.

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