Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37750163›Full record

ArticleJournal of multidisciplinary healthcare2023

Nutrition and Non-Nutrition-Related Challenges Predict Time to Death in Long-Term Care Residents: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Jill Morrison-Koechl, Sheng Han Liu, Albert Banerjee, George Heckman, Heather Keller

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Oral health assessment and care practices in long-term care: a convergent mixed methods study.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jill Morrison-KoechlDepartment of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-8929-0427
Sheng Han LiuDepartment of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Albert BanerjeeDepartment of Gerontology, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
George HeckmanSchlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Heather KellerDepartment of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7782-8103

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Signals of end-of-life decline observed in daily habits, such as mealtime participation, are important for moving towards comfort-focused goals of care in the final months of life of long-term care (LTC) residents. It is unclear how eating issues observed in real-time in LTC homes are used as indicators of suspected end of life. The study quantifies nutrition and key non-nutrition related signals (eg, general decline, unstable vitals) documented to describe end-of-life decline and the subsequent time to death. Patients and Methods: A retrospective chart review identified the first documented conversation where end-of-life decline was considered by members of the care team (eg, nurses, physicians, dietitian, family member) for 76 randomly selected decedents from 9 LTC homes in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Time (days) to death was calculated. A directed content analysis of the free-text description of the suspected end-of-life decline was used to categorize signals. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis tested the risk of mortality associated with each categorized signal. Results: Time to death of residents (mean age = 88 ± 7 years; 60% female) from the first documentation of potential end-of-life decline ranged from 0 days to over 2 years prior to death (median = 27.5 days). Seven nutrition-related and 18 non-nutrition related signals were identified. Swallowing difficulty (HR = 2.99; 95% CI = 1.41, 6.33), cognitive decline (HR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.20, 0.77), delirium (HR = 13.23; 95% CI = 1.57, 111.69), and cancer (HR = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.48) were associated with time to death. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the signals used by care providers in LTC to suspect that residents are declining towards the end of life and identifies four signals that were associated with time to death. When identified by care providers as indicators of end-of-life decline, swallowing difficulty and delirium predicted a shorter time to death, while cancer and cognitive decline predicted a longer time to death. Recognition of nutrition and non-nutrition related signals may be leveraged to systematically introduce timely comfort care conversations.

Indexed as

deliriumdysphagiaLTCtime to death

Identifiers

PMID37750163
PMCPMC10518155

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.