Wealth Disparities in End-of-Life Symptom Burden Among Older Adults.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Understanding how wealth influences the end-of-life experience is crucial for improving patient care and policy, particularly with regard to symptom burden.

Objective

To examine the prevalence of 12 end-of-life symptoms by wealth categories; the association between wealth and a composite measure of high symptom burden; and whether this association is mediated by multimorbidity, functional impairment, or dementia.

Design, setting, and participants

This cohort study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative survey of older adults in the US, on decedents who died between January 1, 2000, and February 28, 2021, from proxy-reported exit interviews through February 28, 2021. Decedents were HRS participants aged 65 years or

SUBMITTER: Cenzer I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11886723 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature