Chronic disease and elder mistreatment: A meta‐analysis

• Published in: International journal of geriatric psychiatry Vol. 37; no. 1
• Main Authors: Wong, Ryan T., Cafferky, Bryan M., Alejandro, Jedd P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Abuse; Adult abuse & neglect; Aged; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Chronic Disease; Chronic illnesses; Classification; Coronary artery disease; Elder Abuse; elder mistreatment; Emotional abuse; Emotions; Endocrine disorders; Geriatric psychiatry; Heart diseases; Hormones; Humans; Meta-analysis; Neurological diseases; Odds Ratio; Random effects; Software; Systematic review; meta-analysis; chronic disease; elder mistreatment; elder abuse
• ISSN: 0885-6230; 1099-1166
• DOI: 10.1002/gps.5640

Objective This meta‐analysis investigated the relationships between chronic diseases and different forms of elder mistreatment (physical, emotional, sexual, financial, neglect, or overall abuse). Method Twelve different chronic disease risk markers linked to elder mistreatment were gathered from 48 studies (yielding 178 effect sizes (ESs) and a combined sample size of n = 390,785), then organized in to four broad chronic disease categories: endocrine disease, heart disease, neurological disease, and other chronic diseases. Data were analyzed with Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis Software using a random effects approach. Results Neurological disease (odds ratio [OR] = 1.51), endocrine disease (OR = 1.38), heart disease (OR = 1.17), and other chronic diseases (OR = 1.26) were all significantly associated with elder mistreatments. Neurological disease (OR = 1.51) was found to have a significantly stronger association with elder mistreatment when compared to the heart disease category (OR = 1.17) and the other chronic disease category (OR = 1.26). When specifically investigating emotional abuse, there was a significantly stronger link with neurological disease (OR = 1.48) compared to other chronic diseases (OR = 1.21). Conclusions This study provides the first meta‐analytic benchmarks for understanding the links between chronic disease risk markers and different forms of elder mistreatment. Key points To our knowledge, this study was the first meta‐analysis to explore the empirical links between chronic diseases and various forms of older adult victimization. This meta‐analysis found that neurological disease had a significantly stronger association with elder mistreatment compared to other chronic diseases. The authors of this study suggest that future research should investigate whether older adults experience potentially more frequent or more severe mistreatment in relation to the progressive nature of their chronic diseases.