Prevalence of living alone with dementia and other progressive neurological conditions: findings from primary care data in England.

Research overview

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BackgroundLiving alone with a neurodegenerative condition such as dementia may result in inequalities in access to support and resources. However, estimates of the number of people living alone vary widely in research studies. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of living alone with dementia, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease (MND), and Huntington's disease in England using electronic healthcare records.MethodsIndividuals identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) database were categorised as living alone or living with others based on medical codes and the number of people registered at a given GP practice from a household. Excluding those in care facilities, the prevalence of living alone was estimated both overall and stratified by measures of inequality including age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, urban/rural location, and region. Prevalence estimates of the population living alone, applied to age and sex structures of upper local authority areas, were mapped. Change in prevalence over 15 years was investigated using Joinpoint analysis.ResultsIn 2023, there were 205,507 people with dementia in the CPRD database, 40,244 with Parkinson's disease, 3515 with MND and 1672 with Huntington's disease. Of those with dementia, 40% lived alone, 33% lived alone with Parkinson's disease and MND and 38% lived alone with Huntington's disease. More area-level deprivation and an urban GP practice were associated with living alone for all conditions. For dementia, Parkinson's disease, and MND, there were differences by age, sex, ethnicity and region. The proportion of people living alone with dementia and MND has increased since 2009.ConclusionsA substantial number of people with neurodegenerative conditions are living alone, possibly exposing them to higher risks in some respect than carried by those who live with others. Changes to clinical policy are needed to enable improved support and targeted care for these individuals.

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