Analysis of disease spectrum and causes of death among elderly patients aged 80 and over / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To summarize the prevalence of diseases and main causes of death in elderly patients aged 80 and over,and to provide epidemiological evidence for preventive care of geriatric diseases.Methods A total of 922 autopsy cases aged from 60 to 106 at our hospital from April 1,1969 to October 31,2013 were analyzed.The disease spectrum and the main causes of death in cases aged 80 and over were compared with those in cases aged from 60 to 79.Results The top fifteen pathological diagnoscs in elderly patients aged 80 and over were chronic pyelonephritis(62.2 ％,290 cases),coronary heart disease(59.2％,276 cases),bronchopneumonia(52.6％,245 cases),prostatic hyperplasia (58.1％,232/399),pleural effusion (47.9％,223 cases),malignant tumor (47.4 ％,221 cases),chronic bronchitis(43.1 ％,201 cases),pulmonary congestion or edema(42.1 ％,196 cases),pericardial effusion (41.8 ％,195 cases),old myocardial infarction (40.1 ％,187 cases),emphysema (36.3％,169 cases),chronic cystitis (22.7％,106 cases),gallstones or cholecystitis (14.2％,66 cases),acute myocardial infarction (13.7％,64 cases),and gastrointestinal bleeding (12.4 ％,58 cases).The leading causes of death were malignant tumor (47.4 ％,221 cases),infectious disease(26.6％,124 cases)with pneumonia as the most prevalent type(24.0％,112 cases),and cardiovascular disease (myocardial infraction and heart failure) (24.7％,115 cases).Conclusions The most prevalent diseases in patients aged 80 and over are chronic pyelonephritis,coronary heart disease,bronchopneumonia,and malignant tumor.The top three causes of death in the aged are malignant tumor,cardiovascular disease.and pneumonia.Enhanced screening and management of the above diseases for inpatients aged 80 and over are recommended.