JAMA Network OpenNov 9, 2026, 17:39 GMT

Dementia linked to fewer days at home after hip fracture

Among older adults who survived a year after hip fracture, those with dementia spent 53.9 fewer days at home than those without dementia.

Paper by Rebecca A. Rodin, Alexander Kingsbury Smith, Siqi Gan, +4R. Sean Morrison · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · James J. Peters VA Medical Center

Our read

Populations

Studied:: Cohort study of 1,756,388 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for hip fracture, 1 year
What changed:: Survivors with dementia had 53.9 fewer days at home than those without dementia
The catch:: Differences in care needs or home support were not captured in the adjustment
In the record:: The 3,578th paper on dementia with results in people; 10,811 on record in all. Its result on survival agrees with all 3 other findings on record.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

Community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older—1,756,388 people hospitalized for hip fracture—were followed for up to one year in an observational cohort study. Their average age was 82.5 years, 70.4% were female, and 513,698 had dementia.

Among those who survived the year, adjusted time at home averaged 263.8 days with dementia versus 317.7 days without it. Those with dementia spent more time in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Across the full cohort, average survival during the year, adjusted for age and sex, was 264.6 days with dementia versus 314.9 days without it. Among survivors with dementia, Medicaid eligibility, rural residence, geographic region and age 85 or older were associated with fewer days at home.

Why it matters

For older adults with dementia facing hip fracture, these results may help guide discussions about prognosis and long-term care needs.

Caveats

The days-at-home comparison covered only one-year survivors who lived at home before fracture, not people already in care facilities. Differences in care needs or home support not captured in the adjustment may also have contributed to the gap.