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Longitudinal Predictors of Institutionalization in Old Age
Hajek A, Brettschneider C, Lange C, Posselt T, Wiese B, Steinmann S, Weyerer S, Werle J et al.. PloS one, 2015-12-14
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To investigate time-dependent predictors of institutionalization in old age using a longitudinal approach. Methods In a representative survey of the German general population aged 75 years and older predictors of institutionalization were observed every 1.5 years over six waves. Conditional fixed-effects logistic regressions (with 201 individuals and 960 observations) were performed to estimate the effects of marital status, depression, dementia, and physical impairments (mobility, hearing and visual impairments) on the risk of admission to old-age home or nursing home. By exploiting the longitudinal data structure using panel econometric models, we were able to control for unobserved heterogeneity such as genetic predisposition and personality traits. Results The probability of institutionalization increased significantly with occurrence of widowhood, depression, dementia, as well as walking and hearing impairments. In particular, the occurrence of widowhood (OR = 78.3), dementia (OR = 154.1) and substantial mobility impairment (OR = 36.7) were strongly associated with institutionalization. Conclusion Findings underline the strong influence of loss of spouse as well as dementia on institutionalization. This is relevant as the number of old people (a) living alone and (b) suffering from dementia is expected to increase rapidly in the next decades. Consequently, it is supposed that the demand for institutionalization among the elderly will increase considerably. Practitioners as well as policy makers should be aware of these upcoming challenges.
Key findings
- Results The probability of institutionalization increased significantly with occurrence of widowhood, depression, dementia, as well as walking and hearing impairments.
- In particular, the occurrence of widowhood (OR = 78.3), dementia (OR = 154.1) and substantial mobility impairment (OR = 36.7) were strongly associated with institutionalization.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study found that dementia, widowhood, depression, and walking and hearing impairments were each strongly associated with admission to a nursing home or old-age home. It does not test any treatment or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants201
- Effect sizeOR = 78.3; OR = 154.1; OR = 36.7
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 63 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 66 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 201 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 184 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 14.2 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 29.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 33 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Heidelberg University: institution h-index 1,344 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26658776) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 63 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 63 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 66 out of 100. |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hajek, A., Brettschneider, C., Lange, C., Posselt, T., Wiese, B., Steinmann, S., et al. (2015). Longitudinal Predictors of Institutionalization in Old Age. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144203
Vancouver
Hajek A, Brettschneider C, Lange C, Posselt T, Wiese B, Steinmann S, et al. Longitudinal Predictors of Institutionalization in Old Age. PloS one. 2015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144203. PMID: 26658776.
BibTeX
@article{hajek2015-26658776,
author = {Hajek, A. and Brettschneider, C. and Lange, C. and Posselt, T. and Wiese, B. and Steinmann, S. and Weyerer, S. and Werle, J. and others},
title = {{Longitudinal Predictors of Institutionalization in Old Age}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0144203},
pmid = {26658776},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144203}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.