Centre for Policy on Ageing



Loss of independence in activities of daily living in older adults hospitalized with medical illnesses — increased vulnerability with age
Author(s)	Kenneth E Covinsky, Robert M Palmer, Richard H Fortinsky
Journal title	Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 51, no 4, April 2003
Pages	pp 451-458
Keywords	Independence ; Mobility ; Self care capacity ; Ill health ; Admission [hospitals] ; United States of America.
Annotation	Many older people admitted to hospital are discharged with activity of daily living (ADL) function that is worse than their baseline functioning. In this US study, 2,273 patients aged 70+ (mean age 80) or their surrogates were interviewed about their independence in five ADLs (bathing, dressing, eating, transferring, and toileting) 2 weeks before admission (baseline) and at admission. Subjects were interviewed about ADL function at discharge. 35% of the patients were found to have declined in ADL function between baseline and discharge. The oldest patients were found to be at particularly high risk of poor functional outcomes, because they are less likely to recover ADL function lost before admission, and more likely to develop new functional deficits while in hospital. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030612203 A
Classmark	C3: C4: CA: CH: LD:QKH: 7T
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.