Why the ‘elderly can give up on life’ in care homes

GOING into a care home can make elderly residents give up on life, researchers say.

A lack of mental stimulation often causes apathy which can lead to premature death, a study by foreign academics has revealed.

The charity Age UK says some care homes do not provide engaging activities, leaving pensioners ‘withdrawn and unmotivated’.

The warnings follow a Dutch study which found half of nursing home residents are suffering from apathy which has left them ‘indifferent’ to everyday life.

Apathy, which is distinct from depression and can often go unnoticed, was found to increase the risk of older people dying prematurely by 62 per cent.

Tom Owen, co-director of the My Home Life project at City, University of London, said: ‘When there is very limited time with staff, even though they are doing their absolute best, you are going to have residents who are not being given the stimulation they need.’

The researchers who looked at 713 care home residents found half were suffering from apathy, defined as ‘reduced interest and participation in the main activities of daily living’. The authors of the study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, don’t know why apathy may cause premature death, but cite evidence that it accelerates a decline in brain function. Lead author Johanna Nijsten, from Radboud University in the Netherlands, said: ‘The presence of apathy in nursing home patients should get more attention in daily care.’

She is now calling for older people to be screened for the problem.