Women with dementia receive inferior health care to men, researchers say today.
The reason is probably because more elderly women than men live alone – and so get less support in getting care, researchers at University College London say.
Women have fewer visits to GPs about their condition, receive less monitoring of their health and are more likely to take harmful medication, such as psychotropic drugs, researchers found.
The findings, reported in Age and Ageing, come from a study of the records of 68,000 patients with dementia compared with another 259,000 people.
The researchers found that overall patients with dementia received less medical care than other people – in spite of their vulnerability.
The researchers said there were signs of some improvements in care over the years.
In 2002 just 24% of patients had their weight checked compared with 43% in 2013.
Researcher Dr Claudia Cooper, a psychiatrist, said: “Women with dementia who live on their own may need additional support accessing healthcare services. We should ensure GPs have the resources to proactively engage with these patients and review their condition regularly to make sure their treatment plan, including any drugs, are appropriate.
"Improving access to healthcare and reducing psychotropic drug use in people with dementia, especially women, could help them to live well with dementia for longer.”
Age and Ageing 5 December 2016 [abstract]
Leave a Reply