To examine the effects of Day Care (DC) on demented patients.
A prospective non-randomized concurrent-control study.
55 demented patients in DC and 44 controls.
Sundsvall, an industrial community in northern Sweden.
Cognition, ADL-functions, behaviour and institutionalization.
Measurements of cognition, ADL-functions, and behaviour showed no or only small differences between the groups. After one year, 24% of the patients in the DC-group were institutionalized, compared with 44% of the controls. In the control group, the exhaustion of spouse and supervision need were highly correlated to institutionalization (p