Protein-energy undernutrition and the risk of mortality within six years of hospital discharge.
J Am Coll Nutr
; 17(6): 571-8, 1998 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9853536
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The primary objective was to determine whether protein-energy undernutrition among elderly patients discharged from the hospital remains a significant risk factor for mortality beyond 1 year.DESIGN:
Prospective Survey (cohort study).SETTING:
Outpatient follow-up of patients discharged from a Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit (GRU) of a Veterans Administration hospital.PARTICIPANTS:
Of 350 randomly selected admissions to the GRU, 322 were discharged alive from the hospital. These 322 patients represented the study population of whom 99% were male, and 75% were white. The average age of the study patients was 76 (range 58 to 102) years. MEASUREMENTS At admission and again at discharge, each patient completed a comprehensive medical, functional, neuro-psychological, socioeconomic, and nutritional assessment. Subsequent to discharge, each subject was tracked for an average of 6 years. In addition to including serum albumin and other putative nutrition indicators in the data set, a "nutrition-risk" indicator variable was created. Subjects were stratified into the nutrition "high-risk" group if their albumin was less than 30 g/L or BMI was less than 19; and, "low-risk" group if albumin was equal to or greater than 35 g/L and BMI equal to or greater than 22. All others represented the "moderate-risk" group.RESULTS:
Within the 6-year post-hospital-discharge follow-up period, 237 study subjects (74%) died. Based on the Cox proportional hazards survival model, the variable most strongly associated with mortality was discharge "nutrition-risk" followed by the Katz Index of ADL Score, diagnosis of congestive heart failure, discharge location (home vs. institution), age, and marital status. Within the first 4.5 years of follow-up, the relationship between "nutrition-risk" and mortality remained constant. After 4.5 years, the strength of the correlation began to diminish.CONCLUSIONS:
Among the elderly, protein-energy undernutrition present at hospital discharge appears to be a strong independent risk factor for mortality during the subsequent 4.5 years or longer.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Desnutrición Proteico-Calórica
/
Hospitalización
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Am Coll Nutr
Año:
1998
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos