Abstract
BackgroundThe risk factors for mortality after hospitalization in older persons are not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the three-year (1,096 days) mortality in previously hospitalized older patients from rural areas, and to explore how objectively and self-reported health indicators at baseline were associated with mortality.MethodsThe study included 484 (241 men) medical inpatients with age range 65–101 (mean 80.7, SD 7.4) years. Baseline information included the following health measures: the Charlson Index, the Mini-Mental-State Examination, Lawton and Brody’s scales for physical self-maintenance and the instrumental activities of daily living, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, self-reported health (one item), and perceived social functioning (one item) and assistance in living at discharge.ResultsIn all, 172 (35.5%) of those patients included had died within the three years of the follow-up period. Three-year mortality was associated with a high score at baseline on the Charlson Index (HR 1.73, 95%CI 1.09-2.74) and poor self-reported health (HR 1.52, 95%CI 1.03-2.25) in a Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, other objectively measured health indicators, and perceived impaired social functioning.ConclusionIn a study of older adults admitted to a general hospital for a wide variety of disorders, we found co-morbidity (as measured with the Charlson Index) and poor self-reported health associated with three-year mortality in analysis adjusting for age, gender, and other health-related indicators. The results suggest that self-reported health is a measure that should be included in future studies.
Highlights
The risk factors for mortality after hospitalization in older persons are not fully understood
* Correspondence: anne-sofie.helvik@ntnu.no 1Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Postboks 8905, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway 2Innlandet Hospital Trust, Division Tynset, Tynset, Norway Full list of author information is available at the end of the article are appropriate for the prediction of mortality as more objective health measures [1,2,3,13], but not all the research agrees with this [14]. When it comes to studies exploring risk factors for mortality among hospitalized older patients with a wide variety of medical diagnoses, much the same objective health measures are reported as in studies of general populations of older adults, i.e. co-morbidity, reduced cognitive function, and impaired performance of the personal and instrumental activities of daily living, and depression [15,16,17,18,19,20,21]
The aim of this study was to explore if and how objectively measured and self-reported health indicators were associated with the three-year mortality in a sample of previously hospitalized older patients from rural areas with a wide variety of medical diagnoses
Summary
The risk factors for mortality after hospitalization in older persons are not fully understood. Epidemiological studies with a follow-up time of between two years and twenty years have identified several health indicators as risk factors for mortality in general populations of older adults These studies have included poor self-reported health [1,2,3,4], impaired cognitive function [5,6], impaired performance of the personal and instrumental activities of daily living [6,7,8,9], impaired vision and hearing [10], depression [8], and some chronic conditions [6,9,11,12]. The aim of this study was to explore if and how objectively measured and self-reported health indicators were associated with the three-year mortality in a sample of previously hospitalized older patients from rural areas with a wide variety of medical diagnoses
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
