Missing dementia patients face serious harm risks, study finds

One in 10 times that a person with dementia goes missing results in serious harm, finds a new UCL-led analysis of police data on missing people incidents involving older adults in the UK.

The researchers say this figure may still be an underestimate, as their findings, published in the journal Age and Ageing, highlight the need for preventative action to keep people with dementia safe.

Missing incidents are not entirely uncommon among people with dementia and they can pose meaningful risks, yet this risk is not adequately addressed by health and social care services. We need to develop proactive, integrated, and dementia-specific prevention strategies to reduce harm and improve safety outcomes for this vulnerable and underserved population."

Dr. Vasiliki Orgeta, Lead Author, UCL Division of Psychiatry 

The researchers reviewed data from 1,540 police-recorded missing incidents involving people aged 65 and over in two large police forces in England and Wales from 2015 to 2021.

They found that 27% of these cases involved people with dementia, although they caution that this is likely an underestimate, as some cases might not have recorded a person's dementia diagnosis, while some cases may have involved people with undiagnosed dementia. The researchers note they were only looking at missing incidents that have been reported to the police.

Among those with dementia, 9.4% of missing person incidents resulted in significant harm such as serious injuries, including one recorded death.

The researchers found that risk of harm in people with dementia was significantly associated with older age, being reported missing at night, and longer duration of absence (longer than 24 hours).

Over three quarters (78%) of people with dementia in the data set had gone missing from their own homes rather than long-term care or hospitals.

The researchers also found that 30% of the cases involved people who had gone missing more than once, highlighting the need for targeted safeguarding measures for people at risk of repeated missing incidents.

The researchers are calling for increased public awareness, dedicated funding, and better integration across services.

Co-author Lawrence Fong (UCL Division of Psychiatry), who led the analyses, said: "Missing incidents are highly distressing for people with dementia and their families and can result in serious harm even if the individuals are found relatively quickly. People caring for family members with dementia need to be aware of the risks so they can help keep them safe."

Dr Orgeta said: "Missing incidents can be costly, so health and social care services, police, local councils and families need to work together both to prevent people from going missing and to reduce the time they remain missing. Health professionals could also develop targeted risk assessments for people with dementia, particularly those living at home or transitioning between care settings."

She added: "While we found that a substantial portion of older adults reported missing do have dementia, we suspect that our findings on people over 65 without a dementia diagnosis likely include individuals with undiagnosed dementia. Going missing can sometimes be an early sign of dementia, highlighting the importance of recognising warning signs so people can be diagnosed sooner and access timely care and support."