The relationship between premorbid life-style and wandering behaviors in institutionalized people with dementia

Forty-nine ambulatory residents participated in a study conducted to determine the relationship between premorbid life-style, work, and ways of handling stress, and wandering in dementia units. The sample consisted of 23 males and 26 females with a mean age of 79. Family members responded to open-ended questionnaires that asked about premorbid leisure activities, hobbies, exercise, stress management, type of employment and social interactions. Activities were ranked according to energy expended on the Metabolic Cost of Activities (MET) Scale. No activity equaled Inactive (0); 1.5-2 METS equaled Mildly Active (1), 2-3 METS equaled Moderately Active (2), and 3-4 METS equaled Very Active (3). Subjects were observed three times for one-hour intervals on each of three shifts (day, evening, night) at randomly selected times to assess wandering behavior. Behavior was logged every five minutes. The subjects' most frequent conditions were awake (21%), alone (20%), and in their own rooms (17%). Twenty-four (50%) of the subjects were observed pacing, and 16 (33%) were agitated/restless at some point in time. Statistical analyses showed no significant correlations between premorbid life-style variable rankings and the amount of time spent standing, walking and pacing. The findings suggest that wandering behavior is not influenced by premorbid life-styles.