More Alzheimer’s patients dying at home

Report shows trend away from longterm care facilities.

NEW YORK — One in four Alzheimer’s deaths in the United States is now occurring at home — a startling increase that marks a shift away from hospitals and nursing homes, according to a new report.

Alzheimer’s deaths in hospitals and nursing homes or other long-term care facilities shrank from more than 80 percent to 60 percent over 15 years. Meanwhile, those dying at home rose from 14 percent to 25 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that impairs memory, judgment and other mental abilities. The Alzheimer’s death rate has risen nearly 80 percent since 1999, and the disease is the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death.

A big reason for the increase in deaths is that declines in other causes of death — particularly heart disease and cancer — enable more people to live long enough to die from Alzheimer’s, experts say.

One possible explanation for the rising rate of home deaths is patient preference. Remaining in familiar surroundings can be a comfort, said Jeff Huber, president of Home Instead Senior Care, an Omaha, Neb.-based company that provides home care to tens of thousands of clients with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

But even if families have the resources to hire homecare workers, caring for a patient can take an exhausting toll, experts said.

As baby boomers age, “the numbers dying from Alzheimer’s are just going to get worse,” said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs for the Alzheimer’s Association.