Table 1.
General characteristics of older patients at baseline according to sex.
| ALL patients | FEMALE | MALE | p* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1140 | 694 (60.9%) | 446 (39.1%) | |||
| Length of stay* (mean, SD) | 14.1 (11.8) | 14.1 (11.7) | 14.1 (11.9) | 0.915 | |
| Age (mean, SD) | 84.2 (7.4) | 84.9 (7.2) | 83.1 (7.4) | < 0.001 | |
| BMI, kg/m2 (mean, SD) | 25.5 (5.1) | 25.5 (5.2) | 25.4 (4.9) | 0.788 | |
| Height, cm (mean, SD) | 163.2 (9.5) | 158.5 (7.3) | 170.1 (8.0) | < 0.001 | |
| Weight, kg (mean, SD) | 68.0 (15.2) | 64.1 (13.6) | 73.8 (15.5) | < 0.001 | |
| Years of education (mean, SD) | 6.8 (4.4) | 6.6 (4.0) | 7.1 (4.9) | 0.111 | |
| MPI at Admission (mean, SD) | 0.58 (0.20) | 0.59 (0.20) | 0.57 (0.21) | 0.029 | |
| MPI at Admission (class) | mild | 169 (14.8%) | 84 (12.1%) | 85 (19.1%) | 0.005 |
| moderate | 502 (44.0%) | 319 (46.0%) | 183 (41.0%) | ||
| severe | 469 (41.1%) | 291 (41.9%) | 178 (39.9%) | ||
| Activities of Daily Living (mean, SD) | 2.8 (2.3) | 2.7 (2.3) | 2.9 (2.3) | 0.348 | |
| Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (mean, SD) | 2.7 (2.6) | 2.7 (2.5) | 2.6 (2.6) | 0.545 | |
| Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (mean, SD) | 4.1 (3.5) | 4.2 (3.5) | 4.0 (3.5) | 0.507 | |
| Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (mean, SD) | 8.6 (3.3) | 8.5 (3.3) | 8.7 (3.3) | 0.504 | |
| Exton-Smith scale (mean, SD) | 14.1 (3.7) | 14.1 (3.6) | 14.1 (3.8) | 0.976 | |
| Comorbidity Index Rating Scale (mean, SD) | 2.1 (0.4) | 2.1 (0.4) | 2.2 (0.4) | < 0.001 | |
| Number of medications (mean, SD) | 7.1 (3.4) | 7.0 (3.2) | 7.3 (3.5) | 0.239 | |
| Cohabitation status (n, %) | Alone | 372 (32.7%) | 283 (40.8%) | 89 (20.0%) | < 0.001 |
| with family or private care | 623 (54.6%) | 325 (46.9%) | 298 (66.8%) | ||
| in institution/homecare | 144 (12.6%) | 85 (12.3%) | 59 (13.2%) | ||
| Main diagnosis** by ICD10 (n, %): | AB- Infectious | 87(7.8%) | 52 (7.6%) | 35 (8.1%) | 0.819 |
| CD- Neoplasms | 55 (4.9%) | 22 (3.2%) | 33 (7.7%) | 0.002 | |
| D5- Blood | 34 (3.1%) | 17 (2.5%) | 17 (3.9%) | 0.210 | |
| E - Endocrine, nutritional and metabolism | 41 (3.7%) | 29 (4.2%) | 12 (2.8%) | 0.253 | |
| FG - Nervous system and behavioural | 81 (7.3%) | 53 (7.7%) | 28 (6.5%) | 0.478 | |
| HLT - Skin. ear and others | 25 (2.2%) | 15 (2.2%) | 10 (2.3%) | 1.000 | |
| I - Circulatory system | 260 (23.3%) | 151 (22.0%) | 109 (25.3%) | 0.217 | |
| J - Respiratory system | 174 (15.6%) | 91 (13.3%) | 83 (19.3%) | 0.009 | |
| K - Digestive system | 103 (9.2%) | 73 (10.7%) | 30 (7.0%) | 0.043 | |
| M - Musculoskeletal and connective | 73 (6.5%) | 50 (7.3%) | 23 (5.3%) | 0.215 | |
| N - Genitourinary system | 36 (3.2%) | 20 (2.9%) | 16 (3.7%) | 0.489 | |
| RS - Fractures, tendency to fall, edema | 147 (13.2%) | 112 (16.4%) | 35 (8.1%) | < 0.001 | |
Abbreviations: SD: standard deviation; ICD: International Classification Disease.
*:
length of stay did not include the period in the Emergency Department;
**
Diagnosis was missing in 24 patients.