[Characteristics of applicants with first-time determination of need for long-term care-A nationwide analysis of care assessments of applicants insured with the AOK aged 60 years and above].

Background: The increasing number of care-dependent individuals requires approaches to prevent care dependency or reduce the loss of independence. Long-term care assessments can provide valuable insights into this.

Objective: The aim of this article is to describe initial applicants with an identified need for long-term care as well as to provide a differentiated analysis of care-related diagnoses by age, gender, care level and federal state.

Material and methods: The nationwide database consists of long-term care assessments conducted by the Medical Service (MD) of individuals insured with the AOK aged 60 years and above who received a care level (PG) for the first time in 2021. Information relevant to long-term care was analyzed descriptively.

Results: In this study 339,486 individuals with an average age of 79.6 years (±8.4 years) and a female proportion of 59.0% were analyzed. Approximately one half received care level 2 and 32.4% received care level 1. Care levels 3-5 were assessed less frequently (16.2% vs. 4.8% vs. 1.7%, respectively). Individuals living alone were represented more strongly in lower care levels, while individuals not living alone had a higher proportion in care levels 3-5. The most frequent care-relevant diagnoses were senility (R54), polyarthritis (M15) and dementia (F03) with significant differences observed between federal states (ICD-10 R chapter: 0.8% Berlin and Brandenburg vs. 37.9% Saxony; M chapter: 13.6% Bavaria and Hamburg vs. 39.9% Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).

Conclusion: Social determinants, such as age, gender, living alone, and region can play a role in the classification into a care level. Significant differences in care-related diagnoses between federal states warrant further investigation in future research.