Five-year all-cause mortality rates across five categories of substantiated elder abuse occurring in the community

ABSTRACT

Elder abuse increases the likelihood of early mortality, but little is known regarding which types of abuse may be resulting in the greatest mortality risk. This study included N = 1,670 cases of substantiated elder abuse and estimated the 5-year all-cause mortality for five types of elder abuse (caregiver neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and polyvictimization). Statistically significant differences in 5-year mortality risks were found between abuse types and across gender. Caregiver neglect and financial exploitation had the lowest survival rates, underscoring the value of considering the long-term consequences associated with different forms of abuse. Likewise, mortality differences between genders and abuse types indicate the need to consider this interaction in elder abuse case investigations and responses. Further mortality studies are needed in this population to better understand these patterns and implications for public health and clinical management of community-dwelling elder abuse victims.

KEYWORDS:

• Caregiver neglect
• elder abuse
• financial exploitation
• mortality
• polyvictimization

Acknowledgments

We thank the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services for providing access to the data used in this study.

Additional information

Funding

We would especially like to thank the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Geriatric Studies for Junior Faculty Program for providing funding support to complete this study. Andrew Aschenbrenner was funded by the UTHealth Innovation for Cancer Prevention Research Training Program Pre-doctoral Fellowship (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, grant no. RP140103). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.