Abstract
Background
Restoring functional independence in elderly people with disabilities is one of the
main purposes of a geriatric rehabilitation unit. However, the rehabilitation period
may also represent a useful circumstance to identify predictors of long-term health
outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate a broad spectrum of characteristics
in geriatric patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit in order to identify possible
predictors of long-term survival.
Methods
This cross-sectional and prospective study was carried out in an Evaluation and Rehabilitation
unit in Northern Italy. 243 persons aged 65 or older were enrolled over a period of
12 months (2007–8) and followed for 2 years. Possible predictors of survival were identified among a large spectrum of demographic,
clinical (Charlson Index, lab data), nutritional (Mini-Nutritional Short-Form, bio-impedance
analysis), and respiratory (spirometry) features. Logistic regression models were
used to evaluate the association between patients' characteristics and survival.
Results
189 (86.3%) participants were alive after 2 years of follow-up. Younger age, better functional status at discharge, a lower Charlson
Index score, higher hemoglobin and albumin values at discharge, lower basal fasting
glucose, creatinine, TNF-α levels, and extra-cellular water, as well as higher cholesterol,
vital capacity (VC), and inspiratory capacity were significantly associated with survival.
In the multivariate model, higher VC (OR=6.2; 95%CI=1.6–24.6) and albumin (OR=3.7; 95%CI=1.2–11.8) were associated with survival, whereas the Charlson Index and male gender
showed an inverse correlation (OR=0.77; 95%CI=0.60–0.99 and OR=0.23; 95%CI=0.10–0.95, respectively).
Conclusion
VC was identified as one of the best predictors of survival along with higher albumin
and lower Charlson Index score within 2 years of inpatient rehabilitation among older adults.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 04, 2012
Accepted:
March 6,
2012
Received in revised form:
March 5,
2012
Received:
February 13,
2012
Footnotes
☆The study was carried out in the Geriatric Evaluation and Rehabilitation Unit, Richiedei Foundation, Gussago (Brescia), Italy
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
