Determination of the relationships between anthropometric characteristics and level of daily activities, nutritional habits and mouth-teeth findings of the elderly
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان:
Determination of the relationships between anthropometric characteristics and level of daily activities, nutritional habits and mouth-teeth findings of the elderly
Introduction.– Population above 80 years old comprises the fastest growing age group in current societies. Hospitalization rates of these people have increased.We sought to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics, co-morbidities and functional status of oldest old patients in Greece at hospital admission, and investigate possible determinants of their 6-month survival. Patients and methods.– Patients more or equal to 80 years admitted in the acute ward of the University Hospital of Heraklion were recorded. All patients were followed for a 6-month period. Results.– Ninety-seven patients were admitted, the majority of which (n=64, 73.6%) were hospitalized due to infection. Median number of co-morbidities was 3 (min 0, max 10; IQR 3). Twentytwo patients (26.2%) suffered from heart failure, 26 (30.6%) from type-2 diabetes, 17 (20.2%) from cancer, 47 (54.7%) from dementia, 55 (64.7%) fromhypertension and25 (29.8%) fromatrial fibrillation. Fifty patients (53.8%) were functionally dependent with Barthel Index≤12/20. Eleven patients (12.2%) died during hospitalization and 26 (40.7%) within the following 6 months. Patients who were dependent upon admissionhad significantly reduced survival compared to those who were independent (HR 0.24; 95% CI 0.10–0.59; P=0.002). Presence of delirium upon admission was associated with increased mortality (HR 2.65; 95% CI 1.20–5.84; P=0.016). Conclusions.– Patients above 80 years old comprise a distinct population inhospitals. Findingsof this studyhighlighted several aspects related to their short-term survival, approaching 50% within 6 months. These findings could provide physicians with insight towards more efficient assessment and treatment of such patients.
