Adult day services with specialized care found to have higher proportion with dementia

Adult day services centers (ADSCs) that provide specialized dementia care have a higher proportion of patients with dementia compared with ADSCs that do not provide specialized care, according to a study published online Jan. 25 in National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Priyanka Singh, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the ADSC component of the 2020 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study to compare the prevalence of Alzheimer disease or other dementias in ADSCs that provide specialized care for dementia to the prevalence in other ADSCs. Data were obtained from ADSCs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The researchers found that 42.2 and 22.7% of participants had dementia in ADSCs that provide specialized dementia care and other ADSCs that do not specialize in dementia care, respectively. Across regions, the prevalence of dementia was similar, with a slightly lower percentage seen in the West. The prevalence of dementia was higher in ADSCs in metropolitan statistical areas, nonchain centers, and nonprofit centers.

"Findings from this report may inform providers, policymakers, researchers, and consumer advocates about the prevalence of dementia in ADSCs in general and in ADSCs that provide specialized care and ADSCs that do not provide specialized care for dementia," the authors write.