Caregivers in Fairbanks Ranch: Hospitalization May Speed Cognitive Decline

Cognitive Decline Caregivers In Fairbanks RanchCaregivers in Fairbanks Ranch are often contacted after an injury or sudden decline in health makes it dangerous for a senior to live without daily assistance. Many times, this situation is immediately preceded by a stay in the hospital. A group of researchers wondered, however, if the process of hospitalization itself could be contributing to cognitive decline. Their findings are significant, although they seem to raise more questions than they answer.

Accelerating the Need for Caregivers?

Trying to find out whether a stay in the hospital increases the need for caregivers because of mental decline is a very difficult task, since hospitalization always occurs in close connection with serious medical conditions. It is almost impossible in any one case to show whether the medical condition or the hospital stay is primarily responsible for the decline. In order to get a clearer picture, the researchers began with a large study group (over 1,500 members) who had been hospitalized for a wide variety of reasons.

Broad Results

Each member was periodically analyzed to determine his or her current state of cognitive decline (or lack of it). The study had many other stipulations, all of which served to exclude irregularities and deceptive data from the results of this tricky test. When the results were added up, they showed that the subjects were 2.4 times more likely to experience cognitive decline following a hospital stay.

What it Means

Remember that the hospital stays among the test subjects were caused by many different medical causes. This means that the hospital visit was virtually the only common factor among cases, and it appeared to increase the risk of mental decline by 240 percent. Using this information to formulate possible solutions will be almost as difficult as obtaining the information in the first place, but caregivers in Fairbanks Ranch hope that our elderly loved ones will soon gain some help in weathering a stressful hospital stay without risking the loss of cognitive functions.

Originally posted 2012-05-30 17:00:15.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

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