Predictors of mortality during hospitalization and 3 months after discharge in elderly people with and without dementia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess mortality during hospitalization and 3 months after discharge in elderly people with and without dementia, and to identify variables that might predict mortality.

Methods: A prospective matched cohort study was conducted involving 195 inpatients with dementia and 204 inpatients without dementia. Information on sociodemographic, and clinical data were gathered. Patients completed questionnaires on premorbid basic (Barthel, BI) and instrumental activities of daily living (Lawton and Brody), quality of life (EuroQoL5-D; Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease), burden of the caregiver (Zarit). Data were collected on admission and 3 months after discharge. Descriptive analyses, univariable analyses and multivariable logistic regression models were applied to identify risk factors associated with mortality at 90 days.

Results: For patients with dementia the following variables were predictors of mortality: having complications during admission, age >84 years, myocardial infarction, >145 sodium and lower BI. For patients without dementia, having lower BI, adverse events during hospitalization, older patient age, sodium >145, no surgery during admission, and more than 2 classes of medication at admission were predictors of mortality.

Conclusion: Adequate nutritional support should be initiated to optimize the clinical outcome of these patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Demented and non-demented inpatients
• death
• functional status

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the people with and without dementia and their carers who took part in the study. We also thank the Research Committee of the Galdakao-Usansolo Hospital for help editing this article, and acknowledge editorial assistance provided by Tim Nicholson. We would like to thank Sergio P. Q. for assistance with data collection. We thank the other members of the Research Unit of HGU for their work on the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from Department of Health of the Basque Country [grant number 2012111139], ‘Impact of hospital admission on patients with dementia’ granted to Inmaculada Moro Casuso, the principal investigator.