Effects of depression on the condition of older inpatients with fracture and preexisting cognitive impairment

Abstract

Aim

Few studies of depression have examined older inpatients with fracture and preexisting cognitive impairment. The current study sought to confirm whether depression affects the condition of older inpatients with fracture who also have cognitive impairment, and to investigate the extent to which depression affects activities of daily living.

Methods

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The subjects were older inpatients with fracture and preexisting cognitive impairment. We examined data within 1 week of hospitalization, obtained from medical records. The data included demographic information, the motor Functional Independence Measure, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale 15, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, Skeletal Muscle Index and maximum grip strength test. These variables were compared between the two groups (with and without depression), and multiple regression analysis was performed with the motor Functional Independence Measure as the dependent variable.

Results

The subjects were 68 patients. Only the motor Functional Independence Measure was significantly lower in the depression group than the non-depression group. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that depression strongly affected activities of daily living.

Conclusions

In considering the recovery of older inpatients with fracture and preexisting cognitive impairment, it is important to take the effects of depression into account.

Implications for rehabilitation

• The number of older fracture inpatients with cognitive impairment is predicted to increase, and such patients have a high prevalence of depression.

• Depression strongly affected Activities of Daily Living in older inpatients with fracture and pre-existing cognitive impairment.

• Focusing on depression assessment and intervention is important for rehabilitation of older fracture inpatients with cognitive impairment.

Keywords:

• Activities of daily living
• cognitive impairment
• fracture
• Geriatric Depression Scale 15
• older people
• recovery
• rehabilitation unit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ‘Grants from Seijoh University’.