Cognitive deficit, physical frailty, hospitalization and emergency department visits in later life
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives To examine the added effect of having both cognitive deficit and physical frailty, compared to having either one only, on hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits.Methods Data from a population-based study of 3,157 community-dwelling older (≥60 years) Chinese adults in the U.S. were used. Cognitive deficit was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (i.e. education-adjusted score: 16 [illiterate], 19 [primary school], and 23 [≥middle school]). Physical frailty was identified using the Short Performance Physical Battery (0–6 out of 15). The numbers of hospitalizations and ED visits in the previous two years were self-reported.Results In this sample, 12.63% had cognitive deficit alone, 5.95% had physical frailty alone, and 4.26% had both. Compared with participants having neither cognitive deficit nor physical frailty, those having physical frailty alone were 1.5 times as likely to have hospitalizations (Rate Ratio [RR] = 1.52 [1.07, 2.16], p = 0.02) and ED visits (RR = 1.52 [1.07, 2.15], p = 0.02). Having cognitive deficit alone was not significantly related to either outcome. However, having cognitive deficit with existing physical frailty increased the likelihood of both hospitalization (RR = 2.00 [1.36, 2.96], p < 0.001) and ED visits (RR = 2.04 [1.37, 3.03], p < 0.001) to a greater extent than having physical frailty alone.Conclusion Having cognitive deficit alone was not significantly related to the likelihood of hospitalizations or ED visits, however having cognitive deficit with existing physical frailty increased the likelihood of both outcomes to a greater degree than having physical frailty alone. This suggests cognitive deficit and physical frailty have synergistic effects on hospitalizations and ED visits.
Source: Aging & Mental Health
Language: English
Topic: Frailty in Older Adults
Subfield: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: John A. Hartford Foundation, American Federation for Aging Research, Atlantic Philanthropies, Starr Foundation, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Awards: 2/2 - Suicide Prevention in Chinese Older Adults, G1878581894, Asian Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), G2353287129, G2423438852, Filial Piety and Psychosocial Well-being in Chinese Population, G461742567, G5034146635, G5362486082, Patient Navigation 2.0: Addressing the Challenge of Scaling Navigation through Checklist-based Implementation
OpenAlex ID: W2991995020