Background characteristics of patients and their familial caregivers
| Variables | N=254, n (%) |
| Age, years | |
| Mean (SD) | 87.1 (7.8) |
| Median (IQR) | 87 (83–93) |
| Female | 181 (71.3) |
| Race | |
| Chinese | 216 (85.0) |
| Indian | 24 (9.4) |
| Malay | 7 (2.8) |
| Others | 7 (2.8) |
| Marital status | |
| Widowed | 179 (70.5) |
| Married | 64 (25.2) |
| Single | 7 (2.8) |
| Divorced | 4 (1.6) |
| Family caregiver’s age, years | |
| Mean (SD) | 58.4 (9.2) |
| Median (IQR) | 58 (53–64) |
| Family caregiver relationship with patient | |
| Children | 223 (87.8) |
| Spouse | 18 (7.1) |
| Others | 13 (5.1) |
| Family caregiver staying with patient | 173 (68.1) |
| Presence of stay-in help | 231 (90.1) |
| Aetiology of dementia | |
| Alzheimer’s | 84 (33.1) |
| Vascular | 73 (28.7) |
| Mixed | 62 (24.4) |
| Parkinson’s disease | 11 (4.3) |
| Others | 24 (9.5) |
| Duration of dementia diagnosis, months | |
| Mean (SD) | 79.7 (52.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 70.5 (42–100) |
| FAST staging of dementia | |
| 7A (minimally communicative) | 1 (0.4) |
| 7C (wheelchair users) | 41 (16.1) |
| 7D (bedbound) | 120 (47.2) |
| 7E (loss of facial expression) | 92 (36.2) |
| Serum albumin level, g/L | |
| Mean (SD) | 28.7 (5.1) |
| Median (IQR) | 29 (26–33) |
| Serum albumin <35 g/L | 226 (89.0) |
| Presence of enteral feeding | 108 (42.5) |
| Pneumonia in the past 1 year | 171 (67.3) |
| Number of additional criteria fulfilled for programme enrolment | |
| One | 78 (30.7) |
| Two | 101 (39.8) |
| Three | 75 (29.5) |
| Common comorbidities | |
| Cerebrovascular accident | 232 (91.3) |
| Diabetes | |
| Uncomplicated | 36 (14.2) |
| End organ damage | 54 (21.3) |
| Moderate–severe chronic kidney disease | 71 (28.0) |
| Solid tumour | |
| Non-metastatic | 65 (25.6) |
| Metastatic | 4 (1.6) |
| Myocardial infarct | 49 (19.3) |
| Total Charlson Comorbidity Index* score | |
| Mean (SD) | 8.5 (2.3) |
| Median (IQR) | 8 (7–10) |
| Length of survival,† days | |
| Mean (SD) | 202.6 (220.2) |
| Median (IQR) | 119.5 (50–290) |
*Charlson Comorbidity Index assesses patients’ comorbidity level, taking into account both the number and severity of 16 predefined comorbid conditions and age category. Each comorbidity has a weighted score of 1–6 with a summative higher score indicating more and/or more severe comorbidities.
†Based on the length of survival of patients who were deceased by 30th November 2018, N=190.
FAST, functional assessment staging tool.