Updated systematic review on prognostic factors for 6-month mortality in older people with dementia

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterised by cognitive decline and functional impairment. Appropriate resource allocation and personalised care planning for individuals with dementia require the identification of prognostic indicators of impending mortality. This updated systematic review evaluates prognostic indicators of 6-month mortality among individuals with dementia. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL, was conducted to identify studies published through 31 July 2024. Five studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. Across these studies, 6-month mortality predictors were identified in four categories: nutrition-related factors (including feeding route, >25% reduction in nutrient intake and low albumin level), pressure injuries (including severe pressure injuries and number of pressure ulcers), oxygen use and pneumonia-related factors (including pneumonia diagnosis and aspiration pneumonia). This review highlights factors with the potential to predict 6-month mortality among people with dementia and emphasises the need for further research to validate these findings, standardise prognostic variable reporting and address current data variability.