Skip to main content
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry logoLink to Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
. 2025 Oct 10;47:e20254114. doi: 10.47626/1516-4446-2025-4114

Long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality among older adults with major psychiatric disorders: a 5-year prospective multicenter study

Katayoun Rezaei 1, Marina Sánchez-Rico 1, Pierre Lavaud 1, Cécile Hanon 1, Emmanuel Leleu 1, Frédéric Limosin 1,2,3, Nicolas Hoertel 1,2,3; C.S.A. Study group†
PMCID: PMC12815399  PMID: 40397764

Abstract

Objective:

As the population ages, the number of older adults with psychiatric disorders in long-term care facilities is expected to significantly increase. To our knowledge, no study has examined the association between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality among older adults with psychiatric disorders.

Methods:

In this report, we used data from the Cohort of Individuals with Schizophrenia, Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder Aged 55 Years or More, a 5-year prospective multicenter study, to examine this association. All analyses were adjusted for a wide range of potential confounders, including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and psychotropic medication use.

Results:

The prevalence of long-term care utilization was 23.6% (n=132) among 559 older adults with major psychiatric disorders. Living in a long-term care facility was significantly and independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in both the crude (OR = 2.54; 95%CI 1.67-3.87; p < 0.001) and fully-adjusted multivariable logistic regression models (AOR = 1.86; 95%CI 1.10-3.16; p = 0.021). This association did not vary significantly across most subgroups defined by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Conclusion:

In this multicenter prospective observational study of older adults with major psychiatric disorders, long-term care utilization was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality. Physicians and policy makers should take this association under careful consideration.

Keywords: Institutionalization, long-term care utilization, older, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, mortality

Introduction

As the population ages, the number of older patients with psychiatric disorders who need to live in long-term care facilities, defined as assisted-living settings that include formal supervision, such as nursing homes, retirement houses, psychiatric wards that allow stays over 3 months, and chronic care beds, is expected to increase significantly.1-7 For example, a U.S. study found that about 15% of older adults with schizophrenia are living in long-term hospitals or nursing homes.8

While a prior study suggested an association between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality among older adults,9 to our knowledge, no study has specifically examined this issue among older adults with psychiatric disorders or the potential role of clinical factors in this putative association. This knowledge could have important implications since, among older adults with psychiatric disorders who live in long-term care facilities, it may help clinicians identify those at greater risk of death. Furthermore, it may help policy makers develop targeted interventions and strategies aimed at reducing this risk and improving the overall health of this growing vulnerable population.10

In this report, we used data from the Cohort of individuals with Schizophrenia, Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder Aged 55 Years or More, a 5-year prospective multicenter study of older adults with major psychiatric disorders, to examine the association between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality. All analyses were adjusted for a wide range of potential confounders, including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and psychotropic medication use. We hypothesized that long-term care utilization would be independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in this population, globally and across subgroups defined by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Methods

Sample

Longitudinal data were drawn from the Cohort of individuals with Schizophrenia, Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorder Aged 55 Years or More, which included 634 older adults with an ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia (n=353), bipolar disorder (n=139) or major depressive disorder (n=142). A more detailed description of the study methodology can be found elsewhere.3,11-18 Participants were recruited between February 2010 and June 2013 from French state hospital psychiatric departments that covered 63 mutually independent catchment areas. Exclusion criteria included limited French proficiency, not being affiliated to the social security system, meeting ICD-10 criteria for any pervasive developmental disorder or major neurocognitive disorder, having any neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, or having any life-threatening medical or surgical condition requiring immediate treatment. All participants were interviewed face-to-face by their treating psychiatrist, who collected all clinical data.

Assessment of long-term care utilization

Long-term care utilization was defined as living, at the time of the baseline interview, in a dwelling that offered some form of formal supervision, including nursing homes, retirement houses, long term stay wards (over 3 months), or chronic care beds, and excluded temporary admission for convalescence or rehabilitation.19,20

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics

Sociodemographic characteristics

Sociodemographic characteristics included sex, age (categorized by the median in the full sample [i.e., 66 years]), education (i.e., < high school, high school, or ≥ university), marital status (married or as if married vs. not married), urbanicity (defined as living in an area with > 1,000 inhabitants per km2), parenthood, and inpatient status (i.e., whether the patient was hospitalized or not at baseline).

Clinical characteristics

Diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder were established face‐to‐face by the treating psychiatrist according to ICD‐10 criteria. Data on general medical conditions were also recorded by the treating psychiatrist, including: the number of non-psychiatric medical comorbidities (mean [SD] = 2.4 [1.64]; median = 2; interquartile range = 1-3); malnutrition (defined as a body mass index < 23 kg/m2)21; obesity (defined as a body mass index > 30 kg/m2)22,23; at-risk alcohol consumption based on the vs. Cut, Annoyed, Guilt, and Eye questionnaire22; current smoking status (smoking vs. not smoking)23; and consultation with a general practitioner in the past year.

Disorder severity

The severity of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder was determined using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS),24 the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE),25 and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale,26 categorized by their respective medians (BPRS, > 36 vs. ≤ 36; MMSE, > 26 vs. ≤ 26; and GAF, > 50 vs. ≤ 50). The BPRS, a well-validated 18-item scale,24 was used to measure general psychiatric symptoms, including affective, positive, and negative symptoms. Each symptom is rated from 1 (absent) to 7 (severe). The MMSE was used to evaluate cognitive functioning.25 The GAF scale was used to evaluate the participants’ overall psychological, social, and occupational functioning.26

Psychotropic medications

For all participants, any psychotropic medications prescribed at the time of the baseline interview were recorded, specifically antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and mood stabilizers.

Causes of death

Deaths were confirmed by a mortality review committee (comprising NH and FL) based on information from treating psychiatrists, hospital records, death certificates, autopsy reports, obituaries, and interviews with physicians or next of kin. Cause of death was adjudicated as disease-related mortality, including cardiovascular disease mortality (due to coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease) or mortality due to a non-cardiovascular disease (i.e., infection), and suicide or non-suicidal injury.

Statistical analyses

We calculated the frequencies and means (SD) of all baseline characteristics described above in the full sample, comparing them using standardized mean differences.27

To examine the association between long-term care utilization and 5-year all-cause mortality among older patients with major psychiatric disorders, we performed, successively, one crude and two multivariable logistic regression models to reduce the effects of confounding. The first multivariable model (Model 1) was adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status, urbanicity, parenthood, inpatient status, psychiatric disorder, number of medical conditions, malnutrition, obesity, at-risk drinking, smoking status, consultation with a general practitioner in the past year, and BPRS, MMSE, and GAF scores (degrees of freedom = 20). The second multivariable model (Model 2) was further adjusted for psychotropic medications, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and mood stabilizers (degrees of freedom = 24).

If the primary analysis yielded a significant association between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality, we intended to perform two additional analyses. First, we would examine the potential association between long-term care utilization and each cause of death (i.e., due to any disease, cardiovascular disease, non-cardiovascular disease, non-suicidal injury, or suicide) using the same regression models and adjustments as performed in the main analysis. Second, we planned to explore potential moderators of the main association by testing whether certain sociodemographic or clinical characteristics significantly modified the magnitude of the association between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality. For each characteristic, we added an interaction term characteristic*long-term care utilization to the multivariable logistic regression models. This additional analysis could help determine whether the main association applied to all participants or only specific subgroups.

For all analyses, statistical significance was determined using a two-sided alpha set a priori at 0.05. We performed residual analyses for all associations to determine data fit and to check the assumptions. All analyses were conducted in R 4.4.2 (R Project for Statistical Computing).

Ethics statement

The research protocol, including informed consent procedures, was conducted in accordance with Declaration of Helsinki ethical guidelines and received full ethical review and approval from the local research ethics committee, the Advisory Committee on Information Processing in Health-related Material Research, and the National Board on Computerized Information and Freedoms.28-30

Results

Sample characteristics

Of 634 older adults with an ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder, 76 (12%) were excluded from the analysis due to missing data. Of the remaining 559 patients, 132 (23.6%) were institutionalized and 427 (76.4%) were not (Supplementary Figure S1 (346.9KB, pdf) ).

In the full sample, sex, age, education level, parenthood, inpatient status, number of medical conditions, and antipsychotic use were significantly and independently associated with 5-year all-cause mortality (Supplementary Table S1 (346.9KB, pdf) ). The distribution of baseline characteristics according to long-term care utilization is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Distribution of baseline characteristics across long-term care groups among older adults with an ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder (n=559).

Institutionalized (n =132) Non-institutionalized(n=427) Comparison between groups (SMD)
Sociodemographic characteristics
    Sex: male (vs. female) 64 (48.5) 175 (41.0) 0.151
    Age : ≥ 66 years (vs. < 66 years) 73 (55.3) 192 (45.0) 0.208
    Education 0.168
        < High school 90 (68.2) 263 (61.6)
        High school 20 (15.2) 65 (15.2)
        ≥ University 22 (16.7) 99 (23.2)
    Marital status: married or as if married (vs. not married) 4 (3.03) 149 (34.9) 0.890
    Urbanicity 19 (14.4) 87 (20.4) 0.158
    Parenthood 53 (40.2) 272 (63.7) 0.485
    Inpatient status 30 (22.7) 109 (25.5) 0.0065
Clinical characteristics
    Type of psychiatric disorder 0.816
        Schizophrenia disorder 109 (82.6) 202 (47.3)
        Bipolar disorder 15 (11.4) 107 (25.1)
        Major depressive disorder 8 (6.06) 118 (27.6)
Number of medical conditions 2.39 (1.61) 2.36 (1.65) 0.016
    BMI (kg/m2) 0.189
        < 23 40 (30.3) 120 (28.1)
        23-30 53 (40.2) 209 (48.9)
        > 30 39 (29.5) 98 (23.0)
    At-risk drinking 6 (4.55) 54 (12.6) 0.292
    Current smoking 33 (25.0) 109 (25.5) 0.012
    Consultation with a general practitioner in the past year 98 (74.2) 381 (89.2) 0.395
Disorder severity
    BPRS: > 36 (vs. ≤ 36) 91 (68.9) 182 (42.6) 0.550
    MMSE: > 26 (vs. ≤ 26) 35 (26.5) 195 (45.7) 0.407
    GAF: > 50 (vs. ≤ 50) 34 (25.8) 244 (57.1) 0.672
Psychotropic medication
    Antipsychotics 108 (81.8) 279 (65.3) 0.380
    Antidepressants 32 (24.2) 185 (43.3) 0.412
    Benzodiazepines 57 (43.2) 156 (36.5) 0.136
    Mood stabilizers 40 (30.3) 126 (29.5) 0.017

Data presented as n (%), unless otherwise specified.

SMDs > 0.10 in bold are considered as substantial differences.

BMI = body mass index; BPRS = Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; GAF = Global Assessment of Functioning; MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination; SMD = standardized mean differences.

Causes of death

The prevalence of 5-year all-cause mortality was 39.4% (n=52) and 20.4% (n=87) among institutionalized and non-institutionalized older adults, respectively. Long-term care utilization was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in the crude regression model (odds ratio [OR] = 2.54; 95%CI 1.67-3.87; p < 0.001) and both adjusted regression models (model 1: adjusted OR [AOR] = 1.72; 95%CI 1.03-2.88; p = 0.039; and model 2: AOR = 1.89; 95%CI 1.11-3.19; p = 0.018) (Table 2). This association remained significant for disease-related mortality (model 1: AOR = 2.13; 95%CI 1.20-3.76; p = 0.009; and model 2: AOR = 2.35; 95%CI 1.31-4.20; p = 0.004) and cardiovascular-related mortality (model 1: AOR = 2.65; 95%CI 1.31-5.36; p = 0.007; and model 2: AOR = 2.89; 95%CI 1.41-5.94; p = 0.004). Long-term care utilization was not significantly associated with the other causes of death (Figure 1 and Table 2).

Table 2. Association of long-term care utilization with causes of death in the full sample.

Mortality events/n (%) Crude logistic regression
OR (95%CI; p-value)
Model 1†
AOR (95%CI; p-value)
Model 2‡
AOR (95%CI; p-value)
All-cause mortality (n=559)
    Institutionalized 52/132 (39.4) 2.54 (1.67-3.87; < 0.001) * 1.72 (1.03-2.88; 0.039) * 1.89 (1.11-3.19; 0.018) *
    Non-institutionalized 87/427 (20.4) Ref. Ref. Ref.
Disease-related mortality (n=530)
    Institutionalized 43/123 (35.0) 2.73 (1.73-4.29; < 0.001) * 2.13 (1.20-3.76; 0.009) * 2.35 (1.31-4.20; 0.004) *
    Non-institutionalized 67/407 (16.5) Ref. Ref. Ref.
Cardiovascular-related mortality (n=481)
    Institutionalized 26/106 (24.5) 3.16 (1.80-5.54; < 0.001) * 2.65 (1.31-5.36; 0.007) 2.89 (1.41-5.94; 0.004)
    Non-institutionalized 35/375 (9.3) Ref. Ref. Ref.
Disease-related non- cardiovascular mortality (n=469)
    Institutionalized 17/97 (17.5) 2.26 (1.19-4.27; 0.012) * 1.56 (0.68-3.62; 0.296) 2.00 (0.83-4.81; 0.123)
    Non-institutionalized 32/372 (8.6) Ref. Ref. Ref.
Non-suicidal injury (n=431)
    Institutionalized 3/83 (3.6) 1.59 (0.41-6.14; 0.498) N/A N/A
    Non-institutionalized 8/348 (2.3) Ref. Ref. Ref.
Death by suicide (n=436)
    Institutionalized 5/85 (5.9) 1.93 (0.65-5.72; 0.234) 1.10 (0.28-4.24; 0.891) 1.36 (0.33-5.66; 0.675)
    Non-institutionalized 11/351 (3.1) Ref. Ref. Ref.

Sample sizes can fluctuate due to the exclusion of participants who died from another cause.

Bold type denotes statistical significance (p < 0.05).

AOR = adjusted odds ratio; N/A = not available; OR = odds ratio.

†

Multivariable logistic regression, Model 1: adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status, urbanicity, parenthood, inpatient status, types of psychiatric disorders, number of medical conditions, body mass index (BMI), at-risk drinker, current smoker, consultation with a general practitioner in the past-year, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (degrees of freedom = 20; all generalized variance inflation factor [GVIF] < 2.50).

‡

Multivariable logistic regression, Model 2: adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status, urbanicity, parenthood, inpatient status, types of psychiatric disorders, number of medical conditions, BMI, at-risk drinking, current smoking, consultation with a general practitioner in the past year, BPRS, MMSE, GAF, antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and mood stabilizers (degrees of freedom = 23; all GVIF < 2.50).

*

Two-sided p-value is significant (p < 0.05).

Figure 1. Mortality rates according to long-term care utilization. * Two-sided p-value is significant (p < 0.05).

Figure 1

Finally, the only significant moderating effects for the main association among the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were BPRS score and benzodiazepine use (interaction OR = 0.35; 95%CI 0.13-0.98; p = 0.046; and interaction OR = 0.34; 95%CI 0.12-0.91; p = 0.032, respectively) (Table 3; Supplementary Figure S2 (346.9KB, pdf) ), suggesting that the association between long-term care utilization and mortality was significantly stronger in participants with lower BPRS scores and in those who did not use benzodiazepines than in their counterparts.

Table 3. Examining the interaction terms between long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality according to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Covariable* long-term care utilization (Model 1)† Covariable* long-term care utilization (Model 2)‡
IOR (95%CI; p-value) IOR (95%CI; p-value)
Sociodemographic characteristics
    Sex: male (vs. female) 0.97 (0.39-2.42; 0.941) 1.15 (0.45-2.94; 0.775)
    Age: ≥ 66 years (vs. < 66 years) 0.74 (0.29-1.86; 0.517) 0.76 (0.3-1.93; 0.562)
    Education
        < High school Ref. Ref.
        High school 1.54 (0.42-5.62; 0.511) 1.48 (0.4-5.53; 0.561)
        ≥ University 3.16 (0.87-11.50; 0.081) 3.57 (0.94-13.58; 0.062)
    Marital status: married or as if married (vs. not married) 0.55 (0.05-6.72; 0.643) 0.84 (0.07-10.10; 0.888)
    Urbanicity 0.49 (0.14-1.72; 0.267) 0.50 (0.14-1.77; 0.285)
    Parenthood 1.76 (0.68-4.58; 0.243) 1.88 (0.71-4.98; 0.204)
    Inpatient status 1.83 (0.65-5.17; 0.256) 1.61 (0.56-4.65; 0.380)
Clinical characteristics
    Types of psychiatric disorder
        Schizophrenia disorder Ref. Ref
        Bipolar disorder 1.25 (0.31-5.04; 0.756) 1.43 (0.34-6.06; 0.630)
        Major depressive disorder 1.61 (0.30-8.61; 0.575) 1.44 (0.26-7.88; 0.672)
    Number of medical conditions 1.24 (0.78-1.97; 0.365) 1.19 (0.74-1.91; 0.480)
    BMI (kg/m2)
        < 23 1.26 (0.42-3.72; 0.680) 1.33 (0.44-4.00; 0.617)
        23-30 Ref. Ref.
        > 30 0.64 (0.18-2.33; 0.498) 0.65 (0.17-2.44; 0.523)
    At-risk drinking 1.60 (0.22-11.90; 0.644) 1.94 (0.27-14.20; 0.515)
    Current smoking 2.11 (0.73-6.07; 0.167) 2.29 (0.78-6.73; 0.130)
    Consultation with a general practitioner in the past year 0.84 (0.26-2.76; 0.776) 0.94 (0.28-3.11; 0.918)
Disorder severity
    BPRS: > 36 (vs. ≤ 36) 0.35 (0.13-0.95; 0.039) * 0.35 (0.13-0.98; 0.046) *
    MMSE: > 26 (vs. ≤ 26) 1.77 (0.64-4.94; 0.272) 1.68 (0.58-4.86; 0.335)
    GAF: > 50 (vs. ≤ 50) 1.78 (0.64-4.92; 0.266) 1.68 (0.59-4.76; 0.328)
Psychotropic medication
    Antipsychotics - 1.79 (0.49-6.52; 0.380)
    Antidepressants - 2.30 (0.79-6.70; 0.127)
    Benzodiazepines - 0.34 (0.12-0.91; 0.032) *
    Mood stabilizers - 1.56 (0.52-4.64; 0.427)

Bold type denotes statistical significance (p < 0.05).

IOR = interaction odds ratio.

†

Multivariable logistic regression, Model 1: adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status, urbanicity, parenthood, inpatient status, types of psychiatric disorders, number of medical conditions, body mass index (BMI), at-risk drinking, current smoking, consultation with a general practitioner in the past year, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).

‡

Multivariable logistic regression, Model 2: adjusted for, sex, age, education, marital status, urbanicity, parenthood, inpatient status, types of psychiatric disorders, number of medical conditions, BMI, at-risk drinking, current smoking status, consultation with a general practitioner in the past year, BPRS, MMSE, GAF, antipsychotics, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and mood stabilizers.

*

Two-sided p-value is significant (p < 0.05).

Discussion

In this longitudinal observational study of 559 older adults with major psychiatric disorders, we found that long-term care utilization was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality, independently of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics or psychotropic medication use. This finding aligns with prior research suggesting an increased risk of death associated with long-term care utilization among older adults.9 This association appeared to be specific to disease-related mortality, particularly cardiovascular-related mortality. While this suggests specific vulnerabilities rather than general vulnerability to all-cause mortality, we cannot rule out that other associations may have been undetected due to insufficient statistical power in our sample.

Several factors could explain the association between long-term care and all-cause mortality. First, previous studies have found that the prevalence of nutritional issues varies between 15 and 65% among older adults who live in long-term care facilities.31,32 These nutritional issues can exacerbate health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and infections, leading to higher mortality in these patients.31,33 Second, older age and higher rates of comorbidities,34 greater functional limitations,35 higher vulnerability to infection,36 and polypharmacy,37 which are associated with long-term care utilization, could also partially explain this finding. Finally, social isolation38 and end-of-life issues,39 with a focus on comfort care in end-of-life scenarios, which are more often observed among institutionalized older adults than in those living at home, as well as variable care quality,40 could also have contributed to this association.

The association between long-term care utilization and mortality did not significantly vary across most subgroups defined by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The two exceptions were lower BPRS scores (reflecting less severe global psychopathology) and non-use of benzodiazepines, for which the association between long-term care utilization and mortality was significantly stronger. This might be explained by the fact that those with lower BPRS scores had a lower absolute risk of death than those with more severe psychiatric symptoms and those taking benzodiazepines, and thus long-term care utilization may have had a greater effect on mortality in these subgroups of patients. In other words, this finding suggests a potential ceiling effect: among patients who already have a very high mortality risk due to their clinical severity17 or benzodiazepine use,41 the additional effect of institutionalization could be reduced. However, we cannot rule out that this might also be explained by type 1 error inflation due to multiple testing.

Our findings highlight several important implications for the clinical care of older adults with major psychiatric disorders. First, our results highlight the importance of designing appropriate health management strategies, particularly for cardiovascular diseases, which represents an important cause of death in this population.42 This is especially important as cardiovascular mortality in institutionalized older patients with major psychiatric disorders is often linked to factors that can be addressed by the healthcare system, including lifestyle habits, nutrition and metabolic issues, and side effects of psychotropic medications.43 Second, health programs should include collaborative strategies aimed at improving communication between mental health and long-term care practitioners to facilitate prevention, early detection, and management of physical issues. Finally, encouraging older patients to engage in adequate physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits through health psychoeducation and regular health screening procedures could be effective for reducing mortality and improving the overall health of this population.44-48

This study has several limitations. First, given the observational design, associations should not be interpreted as causal effects.49 Second, there are two possible major inherent biases in observational studies: unmeasured confounding and confounding by indication. Some amount of unmeasured confounding may remain. However, in order to minimize those risks, all analyses were adjusted for several potential confounders, including sociodemographic characteristics, clinical severity assessments (BPRS, MMSE, and GAF), medical comorbidities, and psychotropic medications. Finally, some potentially important information was not available in this study, including the type of facility where the patients were institutionalized, the length of stay, and the type of care received,3 which could have different effects on mortality.50 Future studies examining these issues would be important.

In this multicenter prospective observational study of 559 older adults with major psychiatric disorders, we found that long-term care utilization was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality. Physicians and policy makers should take this association under careful consideration.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Material

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the French Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (PHRC 2008-N11-01; http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/) and the French Psychiatric Congress (http://www.congresfrancaispsychiatrie.org). It was promoted by the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (http://www.univ-reims.fr/) and the University Paris-Descartes (https://www.univ-paris5.fr). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

The authors would like to thank the Clinical Research Unit of Georges Pompidou European Hospital, especially Pr. Gilles Chatellier, Mr. Yvann Frigout, Mrs. Juliette Djadi-Prat, and Mrs. Pascaline Aucouturier, as well as the Clinical Research Unit of Robert Debré Hospital, especially Mrs. Sarah Rubingher, Dr. Bérengère Hubsch, Dr. Eric Tran, Dr. Fabien Gierski, and Mr. David Da Rin. Warm thanks to all of the patients and investigators who made this study possible.

Footnotes

How to cite this article: Rezaei K, Sánchez-Rico M, Lavaud P, Hanon C, Leleu E, Limosin F, et al. Long-term care utilization and all-cause mortality among older adults with major psychiatric disorders: a 5-year prospective multicenter study. Braz J Psychiatry. 2025;47:e20254114. http://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2025-4114

Handling Editor: Thiago Fidalgo

Data availability statement

The data that support this study are available from the authors upon request.

References

  • 1.Uggerby P, Nielsen RE, Correll CU, Nielsen J. Characteristics and predictors of long-term institutionalization in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2011;131:120. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.03.001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Seitz D, Purandare N, Conn D. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among older adults in long-term care homes: a systematic review. Int Psychogeriatr. 2010;22:1025–39. doi: 10.1017/S1041610210000608. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Lavaud P, McMahon K, Rico MS, Hanon C, Alvarado JM, De Raykeer RP, et al. Long-term care utilization within older adults with schizophrenia: Associated factors in a multicenter study. Psychiatry Res. 2022;308:114339. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114339. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Lloyd-Sherlock P, McKee M, Ebrahim S, Gorman M, Greengross S, Prince M, et al. Population ageing and health. Lancet. 2012;379:1295–6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60519-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Chesney E, Goodwin GM, Fazel S. Risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders: a meta-review. World Psychiatry. 2014;13:153–60. doi: 10.1002/wps.20128. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Vigo D, Thornicroft G, Atun R. Estimating the true global burden of mental illness. Lancet Psychiatry. 2016;3:171–8. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00505-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Pedersen CB, Mors O, Bertelsen A, Waltoft BL, Agerbo E, McGrath JJ, et al. A comprehensive nationwide study of the incidence rate and lifetime risk for treated mental disorders. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71:573. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.16. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Cohen CI, Vahia I, Reyes P, Diwan S, Bankole AO, Palekar N, et al. Focus on geriatric psychiatry: Schizophrenia in later life: Clinical symptoms and social well-being. Psychiatr Serv. 2008;59:232–4. doi: 10.1176/ps.2008.59.3.232. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Wolinsky FD, Callahan CM, Fitzgerald JF, Johnson RJ. The risk of nursing home placement and subsequent death among older adults. J Gerontol. 1992;47:S173–82. doi: 10.1093/geronj/47.4.s173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Herm A, Poulain M, Anson J. Excess mortality risks in institutions: The influence of health and disability status. In: Anson J, Luy M, editors. Mortality: international perspectives. Cham: Springer; 2014. pp. 245–63. [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Hoertel N, Sánchez-Rico M, Kassm SA, Brami B, Olfson M, Rezaei K, et al. Excess mortality and its causes among older adults with schizophrenia versus those with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder: a 5-year prospective multicenter study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2025;275:595–605. doi: 10.1007/s00406-023-01752-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Kassm SA, Limosin F, Naja W, Vandel P, Sánchez-Rico M, Alvarado JM, et al. Late-onset and non-late-onset schizophrenia: A comparison of clinical characteristics in a multicenter study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021;36:1204–15. doi: 10.1002/gps.5512. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Leleu E, Sánchez-Rico M, Abellán M, Blanco C, Yeim S, Chaugne E, et al. Impact of lithium on mortality among older adults with major psychiatric disorders: A 5-year prospective multicenter study. Aging Ment Health. 2023;27:1752–61. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2023.2188172. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Schuster JP, Hoertel N, Von Gunten A, Seigneurie AS, Limosin F. CSA Study Group Benzodiazepine use among older adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder: prevalence and associated factors in a multicenter study. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020;32:441–51. doi: 10.1017/S1041610219000358. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15.CSA Study Group, Hoertel N, Rotenberg L, Blanco C, Pascal De Raykeer R, Hanon C, et al Psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in older adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder: results from a multicenter study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;270:673–88. doi: 10.1007/s00406-019-01026-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Hoertel N, Rotenberg L, Blanco C, Camus V, Dubertret C, Charlot V, et al. A comprehensive model of predictors of quality of life in older adults with schizophrenia: results from the CSA study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021;56:1411–25. doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01880-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Chene M, Sánchez-Rico M, Blanco C, De Raykeer RP, Hanon C, Vandel P, et al. Psychiatric symptoms and mortality in older adults with major psychiatric disorders: results from a multicenter study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2023;273:627–38. doi: 10.1007/s00406-022-01426-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Rezaei K, Kassm SA, Garcés-González MS, Sánchez-Rico M, Olfson M, Ouazana-Vedrines C, et al. Parenthood and all-cause mortality in older adults with schizophrenia: A multicenter 5-year prospective study. Braz J Psychiatry. 2024 Sep 27 doi: 10.47626/1516-4446-2024-3731. Epub ahead of print. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Hebert R, Dubois MF, Wolfson C, Chambers L, Cohen C. Factors associated with long-term institutionalization of older people with dementia: data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56:M693–9. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.11.m693. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Lavaud P, McMahon K, Sánchez-Rico M, Hanon C, Alvarado JM, De Raykeer RP, et al. Long-term care utilization within older adults with schizophrenia: Associated factors in a multicenter study. Psychiatry Res. 2022;308:114339. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114339. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Kitchens JM. Does this patient have an alcohol problem? JAMA. 1994;272:1782. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Ewing JA. Detecting alcoholism: the CAGE questionnaire. JAMA. 1984;252:1905. doi: 10.1001/jama.252.14.1905. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 23.Leucht S, Kane JM, Kissling W, Hamann J, Etschel E, Engel R. Clinical implications of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. Br J Psychiatry. 2005;187:366–71. doi: 10.1192/bjp.187.4.366. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 24.Overall JE, Gorham DR. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychol Rep. 1962;10:799–812. [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Tombaugh TN, McIntyre NJ. The Mini-Mental State Examination: a comprehensive review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1992;40:922–35. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb01992.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Endicott J. The Global Assessment Scale: a procedure for measuring overall severity of psychiatric disturbance. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1976;33:766. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1976.01770060086012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27.Austin PC. Using the standardized difference to compare the prevalence of a binary variable between two groups in observational research. Commun Stat Simul Comput. 2009;38:1228–34. [Google Scholar]
  • 28.Hoertel N, Jaffré C, Pascal De Raykeer R, McMahon K, Barrière S, Blumenstock Y, et al. Subsyndromal and syndromal depressive symptoms among older adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder: prevalence and associated factors in a multicenter study. J Affect Disord. 2019;251:60–70. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.03.007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 29.Pascal De Raykeer R, Hoertel N, Blanco C, Lavaud P, Kaladjian A, Blumenstock Y, et al. Effects of depression and cognitive impairment on quality of life in older adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder: results from a multicenter study. J Affect Disord. 2019;256:164–75. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.063. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30.Rezaei K, Sánchez-Rico M, Garcés-González MS, Vandel P, Schuster JP, Blanco C, et al. Mortality among older people with late-onset and non-late-onset schizophrenia: A 5-year prospective multicenter study. Schizophr Res. 2024;274:393–5. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.10.014. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 31.Arvanitakis M, Beck A, Coppens P, De Man F, Elia M, Hebuterne X, et al. Nutrition in care homes and home care: how to implement adequate strategies (report of the Brussels Forum (22-23 November 2007)) Clin Nutr. 2008;27:481–8. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2008.04.011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 32.Sloane PD, Ivey J, Helton M, Barrick AL, Cerna A. Nutritional issues in long-term care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2008;9:476–85. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2008.03.005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 33.Cereda E, Pedrolli C, Zagami A, Vanotti A, Piffer S, Opizzi A, et al. Body mass index and mortality in institutionalized elderly. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2011;12:174–8. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2010.11.013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 34.Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, Newman AB, Hirsch C, Gottdiener J, et al. Frailty in older adults: Evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56:M146–57. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.3.m146. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 35.Benítez-Rosario MA, Hernández-Estevez P, Aguirre-Jaime A, González-Freire G, Asensio-Fraile A. Functional status and mortality in community-dwelling older people. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001;49:1009–10. doi: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49201.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 36.Garibaldi RA, Brodine S, Matsumiya S. Infections among patients in nursing homes: Policies, prevalence, and problems. N Engl J Med. 1981;305:731–5. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198109243051304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 37.Gurwitz JH, Field TS, Harrold LR, Rothschild J, Debellis K, Seger AC, et al. Incidence and preventability of adverse drug events among older persons in the ambulatory setting. JAMA. 2003;289:1107. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.9.1107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 38.Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med. 2010;7:e1000316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 39.Teno JM, Gozalo PL, Bynum JPW, Leland NE, Miller SC, Morden NE, et al. Change in end-of-life care for Medicare beneficiaries: Site of death, place of care, and health care transitions in 2000, 2005, and 2009. JAMA. 2013;309:470. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.207624. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 40.Castle NG, Ferguson JC. What is nursing home quality and how is it measured? Gerontologist. 2010;50:426–42. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq052. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 41.Xu KY, Hartz SM, Borodovsky JT, Bierut LJ, Grucza RA. Association between benzodiazepine use with or without opioid use and all-cause mortality in the United States, 1999-2015. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3:e2028557. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.28557. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 42.Polcwiartek C, O’Gallagher K, Friedman DJ, Correll CU, Solmi M, Jensen SE, et al. Severe mental illness: Cardiovascular risk assessment and management. Eur Heart J. 2024;45:987–97. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae054. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 43.Kassm SA, Sánchez-Rico M, Naja W, Alvarado JM, Halaby A, Limosin F, et al. Metabolic syndrome and risk of death in older adults with major psychiatric disorders: results from a 5-year prospective multicenter study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022;37 doi: 10.1002/gps.5835. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 44.Vancampfort D, Knapen J, Probst M, Scheewe T, Remans S, De Hert M. A systematic review of correlates of physical activity in patients with schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2012;125:352–62. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01814.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 45.De Hert M, Detraux J, Vancampfort D. The intriguing relationship between coronary heart disease and mental disorders. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2018;20:31–40. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.1/mdehert. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 46.Westman J, Eriksson SV, Gissler M, Hällgren J, Prieto ML, Bobo WV, et al. Increased cardiovascular mortality in people with schizophrenia: A 24-year national register study. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2018;27:519–27. doi: 10.1017/S2045796017000166. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 47.Lemogne C, Blacher J, Airagnes G, Hoertel N, Czernichow S, Danchin N, et al. Management of cardiovascular health in people with severe mental disorders. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2021;23:7. doi: 10.1007/s11886-020-01436-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 48.Dodd KJ, Duffy S, Stewart JA, Impey J, Taylor N. A small group aerobic exercise programme that reduces body weight is feasible in adults with severe chronic schizophrenia: A pilot study. Disabil Rehabil. 2011;33:1222–9. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2010.526162. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 49.Le Strat Y, Hoertel N. Correlation is no causation: gymnasium proliferation and the risk of obesity. Addiction. 2011;106:1871–2. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03547.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 50.Friedman JI, Harvey PD, Coleman T, Moriarty PJ, Bowie C, Parrella M, et al. Six-year follow-up study of cognitive and functional status across the lifespan in schizophrenia: a comparison with Alzheimer’s disease and normal aging. Am J Psychiatry. 2001;158:1441–8. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.9.1441. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Material

Data Availability Statement

The data that support this study are available from the authors upon request.


Articles from Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of Brazilian Psychiatric Association

RESOURCES