Degree of ambulation and factors associated with the median distance moved per day in Alzheimer's disease patients

Abstract

The Integrated Circuit tag monitoring system became available to measure wandering in terms of the distance moved by dementia patients. The purposes of the study were to describe degree of ambulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to examine factors associated with the distance moved. AD patients were recruited at a dementia care unit in Asakayama Hospital, Osaka, Japan. The monitoring system generated the distance moved per day. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from medical records. Mini-Mental State Examination was used to measure cognitive function. A multiple linear regression was used to predict the distance moved per day. The research was approved by the ethics committee of the university and the hospital, and written informed consent was obtained from the patients' proxies. Majority of the AD subjects monitored had moderate to advance stage of dementia. Patients' age and cognitive function were predictors of the median distance moved/day, and these two variables explained almost half of the variance. Older age and lower cognitive function were associated with reduced median distance moved per day in AD patients.

Caring for early‐onset dementia with excessive wandering of over 30 kilometres per day: a case report

“…In our previous IC tag monitoring project, the maximum of the median distance moved per day was 12 km in 40 AD patients, and the majority of the 40 patients moved less than 2 km per day . Thus, this patient's wandering was exceptional.…”

“…In our previous IC tag monitoring project, the maximum of the median distance moved per day was 12 km in 40 AD patients, and the majority of the 40 patients moved less than 2 km per day. 12 Thus, this patient's wandering was exceptional. The most puzzling aspect of her wandering was that she showed no signs of physical exhaustion and did not lose weight even after weeks of excessive wandering.…”

Transitions of care from our inception to COVID-19: What have we learned?

“…Multiple studies have shown that when hospitalized older patients engage in very low levels of activity [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] they are more likely to experience potentially preventable complications such as delirium, neuropsychiatric symptoms, pressure ulcers, falls, nutritional deficiencies [13][14][15] and functional decline. 12,[16][17][18][19] There is little evidence that we have improved the clinical outcomes associated with hospitalizations as per the integrative review published in this issue. 2 The reasons for transfers to the acute care setting back in 1982 are quite similar to the reasons for transfers today.…”

Addressing Adventitious Behaviors Associated with Dementia

“…Assessing for discomfort and utilizing frequent repositioning are substantive interventions to mitigate pain which affects the quality of life of older adults with dementia [17]. Physical activity such as aquatic exercise [18] and ambulation [19] is attributed to reducing discomfort in this population. Cognitive stimulation therapy in the form of group activities serves as modes to deliver engagement, pleasure, and enjoyment [20].…”