Are the care levels of people with dementia correctly assessed for eligibility of the Japanese long-term care insurance?

Background A new long-term care insurance system was launched in Japan in April 2000. Objectives We performed the first national survey on special units of psychiatric hospitals for dementia patients to examine whether their disabilities were well reflected in the eligibility assessment. Methods Of all 248 dementia special units of psychiatric hospitals in Japan, 180 units (72.6%) participated in the survey. Five patients were randomly selected in each unit, and we used data of 802 (89.1%) of 900 patients whose care levels were obtained by the primary computer assessment. These patients were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), dementia rating scale by Gottfries et al. (1982) (GBS), and Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The mean score (SD) of the MMSE was 9.3 (6.9). Results Multiple regression analysis revealed that the scores of motor function in GBS, ADL, MMSE, and the degree of bedridden explained 73% of the variation of care level. The higher care levels were inversely related to lower MMSE scores. In the group of people who were not bedridden, the MMSE score sharply decreased even though their physical functions were maintained. There were no significant differences in the MMSE scores among the care level 1 and 5 groups except between care level 1 and 3 after controlling for the motor function scores in GBS. Conclusions Our results suggest that care level and cognitive impairment are generally correlated in the primary assessment, but some adjustment measure for cognitive impairment is needed in mildly or moderately physically disabled patients. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.