Background The aim of this study was to investigate the role of support from the social environment for the life expectancy in people with dementia beyond well-established individual demographic and clinical predictors over a period of up to 8 years. Methods The analyses are based on data from 500 community-dwelling individuals in Germany who tested positive for dementia and were followed up for up to 8 years. Life expectancy was examined in relation to perceived social support as well as well-established socio-demographic (age, sex) and clinical predictors (cognitive status, functional status, comorbidities), using Cox regressions. Results Greater support from the social environment reduced the risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63–0.98), with the role of emotional support being particularly important. Furthermore, higher age was associated with an increased mortality risk (HR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.05–1.11), while female sex (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.48–0.85) and higher cognitive (HR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93–0.98) and functional status (HR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.86–0.97) were associated with higher life expectancy. Conclusion Our study provides novel evidence that less support from the social environment, especially emotional support, is a risk factor for shorter life expectancy in people with dementia—beyond known clinical factors. Not only the clinical and caregiving needs but also their psychosocial needs of individuals with dementia should be emphasised.

中文翻译：

---

哪些因素会影响痴呆症患者的预期寿命？社会支持作为新兴的保护因素

背景 本研究的目的是调查社会环境支持对痴呆症患者预期寿命的影响，超出已确定的个人人口统计和临床预测因素长达 8 年的时间。方法 这些分析基于德国 500 名社区居民的数据，这些人的痴呆症检测呈阳性，并进行了长达 8 年的随访。使用 Cox 回归分析预期寿命与感知的社会支持以及既定的社会人口统计学（年龄、性别）和临床预测因素（认知状态、功能状态、合并症）的关系。结果 社会环境的更大支持可降低死亡风险（风险比[HR]：0.78；95%置信区间[CI]：0.63-0.98），其中情感支持的作用尤为重要。此外，年龄较大与死亡风险增加相关（HR：1.08；95% CI：1.05-1.11），而女性（HR：0.64；95% CI：0.48-0.85）和认知能力较高（HR：0.96；95） % CI：0.93–0.98）和功能状态（HR：0.91；95% CI：0.86–0.97）与较高的预期寿命相关。结论 我们的研究提供了新的证据，表明社会环境支持（尤其是情感支持）较少是痴呆症患者预期寿命缩短的一个危险因素——超出了已知的临床因素。不仅应强调痴呆症患者的临床和护理需求，还应强调他们的心理社会需求。