Place of residence before hospital admission and mortality at 12‐months in Spanish patients aged 70 years or older

Abstract

Hospitalization of elderly people is often followed by high mortality rates. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of prior residence on 1-year mortality after hospital discharge in patients aged 70 years and over. This was a prospective observational cohort study. Participants were 426 patients discharged from the Internal Medicine Department at a Spanish Hospital who were followed for a 12-month period. Data collection was carried out during hospitalization and included sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity (Charlson index), functional (Barthel index and Lawton scale) and cognitive conditions (Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire), together with parameters related to the disease causing admission (diagnosis related group, laboratory tests, length of hospital stay). Mortality was carried out using telephone interviews. A total of 420 (98.6%) patients were located at the end of follow up. Of these, 95 patients had died, giving an overall 1-year mortality of 22.6%. The mortality rate for patients living in their private homes was 15.6% versus 24.7% for those living with relatives and 60% for those living in institutions. After adjustment for potential confounders, prior residence was associated with mortality with a hazard ratio of 3.98 (95% CI 1.94-8.17) for those institutionalized and a hazard ration of 1.68 (95% CI 0.99-2.16) for those living with relatives, as compared with patients living in their private homes. Prior residence is associated with 1-year-mortality following discharge after controlling for several multidimensional factors.