Characteristics and outcomes of ninth and tenth decade patients hospitalzed in a sub-acute geriatric hospital

Background: Population structures are changing across the western world, with particularly rapid growth in the number of very old people. Life expectancy has been increasing gradually over years, resulting in a larger subpopulation of people aged 90 and over. Objectives: To describe the sociodemographic, medical and functional characteristics of people aged 80-90 and 90+ who were admitted to a sub-acute geriatric hospital and to compare the hospitalization outcomes between these subgroups. Methods: We compared the demographic and clinical data (extracted by means of chart review) of two groups of elderly who were admitted to the Reuth Medical Center during 2001-2002: those aged 90+ and those 80-89. Among survivors, the main outcome measures at discharge were mortality rate, functional ability, and place of residence. Results: The study included 108 patients who were admitted to different divisions of Reuth: 55 patients aged 90+ and 53 aged 80-90. The mortality rate was significantly elevated in the older age group (49.1% vs. 28.1% in the younger age group). On multivariate analysis, the most important prognostic factors for mortality were incontinence (odds ratio 3.45) and being dependent before admission (OR 4.76). Among survivors, an association was found between being incontinent and dependent before hospitalization, and being dependent on discharge. Conclusions: The main prognostic factors for mortality and functional outcome in patients admitted to a non-acute geriatric hospital are incontinence and functional state prior to admission, and not age per se.