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Dementia as a cause of death is largely underreported in nursing homes, according to a study by the Harvard Medical School.
According to the findings, only 16 percent of death certificates for seniors in nursing homes with confirmed cases of dementia list dementia as a cause of death while only 63 percent list it as a contributing factor. For Alzheimer's disease specifically, approximately 33 percent of individuals diagnosed with the disease reportedly did not have it listed as a main or contributing cause of death.
The study estimates dementia-related deaths could be four times as prevalent as they currently appear
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