Elder Abuse, Neglect Make Early Death Far More Likely
Finding illustrates need to report suspected problems, expert says
August 4, 2009
HealthDay Reporter
When seniors stop taking proper care of themselves, their risk for death increases nearly sixfold, a new study shows.
In addition, elderly people who are abused physically, emotionally, financially or through withdrawal of care don't fare much better. Their risk for dying more than doubles, the researchers report.
"Elder self-neglect and abuse really have severe consequences," said study author Dr. XinQi Dong, an associate professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Though people often associate dementia or Alzheimer's disease with self-neglect, the researchers found that "it's not just the cognitively impaired" who are affected, Dong said. "Even more capable seniors face a higher risk of premature death from self-neglect."
The findings are reported in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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