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People 65 and over with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently and have shorter hospital stays, but have a 50 percent higher rate of death than those without dementia, according to a report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Difficulty communicating symptoms and medical complications due to poor oral hygiene or impaired swallowing may inhibit early detection of the flu. Further, limited access to health care services and inadequate testing practices may contribute to the higher rates of mortality and lower rates of diagnosis of flu in this population.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, both part of the National Institutes of Health.
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