Health trajectories of elderly living in French senior housing: a longitudinal perspective

Senior housing for older adults could be an alternative or a transitional care model between home care and nursing home care. Using two longitudinal cohorts of community dwellers aged 65 years or older, we compared risks of mortality and of nursing homes admission between older adults who did or did not move to senior housing over time. In the 3C study (n = 2104, 17 years of follow-up), 143 (6.8%) participants moved into a senior housing during the follow-up. This move was associated with a lower risk of mortality (hazard ratio (HR): 0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.46–0.77) and a higher risk of nursing home admissions (HR: 1.54 (1.10–2.15)). The risks of hospitalizations (HR: 0.54 (0.40–0.73)) and falls (HR: 0.63 (0.50–0.79)) were lower. In the PAQUID study (n = 3777, 27 years of follow-up), 161 (4.3%) participants moved into a senior housing. This move was also associated with a lower mortality risk (HR: 0.72 (0.58–0.88)) and a higher risk of nursing home admissions (HR: 1.39 (1.05–1.86)). Our results showing lower risks of mortality suggest that senior housing may be a relevant model for vulnerable older adults.