Table 1.
Characteristics of 449 Elders Who Became Dependent During Hospitalization
| Characteristic | Total Population (n = 449) | Status at 1 Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovered Independence (n = 164) | Continued Dependence (n = 120) | Death (n = 165) | P-Value | ||
| Demographics | |||||
| Age, y | |||||
| 70–79 | 198 | 89 (45) | 41 (21) | 68 (34) | <0.01 |
| 80–89 | 191 | 64 (34) | 58 (30) | 69 (36) | |
| ≥ 90 | 60 | 11 (18) | 21 (35) | 28 (47) | |
| Sex | |||||
| Female | 300 | 118 (39) | 86 (29) | 96 (32) | 0.01 |
| Male | 149 | 46 (31) | 34 (23) | 69 (46) | |
| Race | |||||
| White | 353 | 132 (37) | 89 (25) | 132 (37) | 0.38 |
| Black | 96 | 32 (33) | 31 (32) | 33 (34) | |
| Marital Status | |||||
| Married | 145 | 54 (37) | 32 (22) | 59 (41) | 0.26 |
| Not Married | 303 | 109 (36) | 88 (29) | 106 (35) | |
| Education | |||||
| < 12 years | 163 | 48 (29) | 49 (30) | 66 (40) | 0.06 |
| ≥ 12 years | 239 | 98 (41) | 58 (24) | 83 (35) | |
| Baseline | |||||
| Able to walk a block | |||||
| Yes | 240 | 101 (42) | 60 (25) | 79 (33) | 0.03 |
| No | 188 | 57 (30) | 51 (27) | 80 (43) | |
| No. IADL dependencies | |||||
| 0 | 188 | 98 (52) | 37 (20) | 53 (28) | <0.001 |
| 1 | 80 | 26 (33) | 21 (26) | 33 (41) | |
| 2 | 58 | 17 (29) | 15 (26) | 26 (45) | |
| ≥ 3 | 123 | 23 (19) | 47 (38) | 53 (43) | |
| Admission | |||||
| No. ADL dependencies | |||||
| 0 | 161 | 59 (37) | 38 (24) | 64 (40) | 0.55 |
| 1 | 67 | 30 (45) | 15 (22) | 22 (33) | |
| 2 | 66 | 18 (27) | 23 (35) | 25 (38) | |
| 3 | 43 | 15 (35) | 12 (28) | 16 (37) | |
| ≥ 4 | 107 | 39 (36) | 32 (30) | 36 (34) | |
| No. IADL dependencies | |||||
| 0 | 44 | 22 (50) | 6 (14) | 16 (36) | 0.08 |
| 1 | 36 | 10 (28) | 8 (22) | 18 (50) | |
| 2 | 42 | 20 (48) | 8 (19) | 14 (33) | |
| 3 | 59 | 22 (37) | 15 (25) | 22 (37) | |
| ≥ 4 | 260 | 84 (32) | 83 (32) | 93 (36) | |
| Chief reason for admission | <0.01 | ||||
| Neurologic | 95 | 28 (29) | 37 (39) | 30 (32) | |
| Cardiovascular | 52 | 12 (23) | 13 (25) | 27 (52) | |
| Infectious | 43 | 23 (53) | 12 (28) | 8 (19) | |
| Pulmonary | 73 | 32 (44) | 10 (14) | 31 (42) | |
| Hematologic | 8 | 2 (25) | 1 (13) | 5 (63) | |
| Gastrointestinal | 82 | 29 (35) | 20 (24) | 33 (40) | |
| Metabolic | 93 | 38 (41) | 26 (28) | 29 (31) | |
| Comorbid conditions | |||||
| Myocardial infarction | 66 | 17 (26) | 18 (27) | 31 (47) | 0.06 |
| Congestive heart failure | 119 | 38 (32) | 27 (23) | 54 (45) | 0.07 |
| Peripheral vasc.disease | 80 | 25 (31) | 26 (33) | 29 (36) | 0.36 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 74 | 23 (31) | 23 (31) | 28 (38) | 0.48 |
| Dementia | 60 | 7 (12) | 23 (38) | 30 (50) | <0.0001 |
| Chronic lung disease | 81 | 31 (38) | 13 (16) | 37 (46) | 0.04 |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 55 | 14 (25) | 20 (36) | 21 (38) | 0.11 |
| Diabetes | 76 | 36 (47) | 13 (17) | 27 (36) | 0.05 |
| Cancer, solitary tumor | 31 | 5 (16) | 8 (26) | 18 (58) | 0.02 |
| Cancer, metastatic | 27 | 3 (11) | 1 (4) | 23 (85) | <0.0001 |
| Laboratory values | |||||
| Creatinine, mg/dL | |||||
| < 1.5 | 313 | 122 (39) | 95 (30) | 96 (31) | <0.001 |
| 1.5–3.0 | 99 | 28 (28) | 19 (19) | 52 (53) | |
| > 3.0 | 29 | 11 (38) | 4 (14) | 14 (48) | |
| Albumin, g/dL | |||||
| < 3.0 | 79 | 25 (32) | 17 (22) | 37 (47) | 0.17 |
| 3.0–3.4 | 93 | 31 (33) | 24 (26) | 38 (41) | |
| ≥ 3.5 | 277 | 108 (39) | 79 (29) | 90 (32) | |
| Hematocrit | |||||
| ≤ 29 | 80 | 22 (28) | 20 (25) | 38 (48) | 0.18 |
| 30–35 | 112 | 40 (36) | 34 (30) | 38 (34) | |
| > 35 | 247 | 98 (40) | 63 (26) | 86 (35) | |
| Discharge | |||||
| No. ADL dependencies | |||||
| 1 | 168 | 88 (52) | 32 (19) | 48 (29) | <0.001 |
| 2 | 78 | 28 (36) | 21 (27) | 29 (37) | |
| 3 | 73 | 25 (34) | 23 (32) | 25 (34) | |
| 4 | 43 | 12 (28) | 17 (40) | 14 (33) | |
| 5 | 87 | 11 (13) | 27 (31) | 49 (56) | |
Values reflect number for the total population and row number (percent) for status at 1 year. P values are based on Chi-square over the three outcomes. Baseline =2 weeks before admission. ADL, activities of daily living; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living. Data missing as follows: marital status (n = 1); education (n = 47); able to walk a block at baseline (n = 21); IADL at admission (n = 8); ADL at admission (n = 5); chief reason for admission (n = 3); comorbid conditions (n = 5); creatinine (n = 8); hematocrit (n = 34); albumin (n = 47).