Long-Term Functional Outcomes in Older Adults After Hospitalization for Extracranial Hemorrhage

TitleLong-Term Functional Outcomes in Older Adults After Hospitalization for Extracranial Hemorrhage
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2021
AuthorsParks, AL, Jeon, SY, Boscardin, JJ, Steinman, MA, Smith, AK, Fang, MC, Covinsky, KE, Shah, SJ
JournalCirculation
Volume144
IssueSuppl _1
PaginationA10778
Keywordsanticoagulation, antiplatelet drugs, hemorrhage
Abstract

Introduction: Antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications often used to manage cardiovascular disease increase the risk of extracranial hemorrhage (ECH), such as gastrointestinal bleeding. There are few long-term data on the loss of function following ECH. This study’s goal was to measure the acute and persistent loss of independence in activities of daily living (ADLs) after ECH hospitalization. Methods: We used data from 1995-2015 from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal, nationally representative survey of older Americans. We included subjects over age 65 who consented to Medicare linkage. We examined the association of ECH hospitalization with ability to perform all ADLs independently (walk across a room, dress, bathe, eat, toilet, get out of bed). To compare rates of ADL independence over time between those with ECH and a control group without ECH, we fit a logistic regression model that included an interaction term between ECH hospitalization and time and adjusted for comorbidities and sociodemographics. Results: In a cohort of 8950 with an average follow-up time of 7.3 years (65,335 person-years), 882 (10%) participants were hospitalized for ECH. Mean age was 78, and 59% were women. In the control group without ECH, the baseline rate of ADL independence declined by an average of 3.1% per year (average marginal effect [AME], 95% CI -3.1% to -3.3%). Assuming hospitalization for ECH at 5.2 years, the median time to ECH in this cohort, ECH was associated with an immediate decrease in ADL independence from 68% to 53% (AME -15%, 95% CI -11% to -18%). Following ECH, the average annual baseline rate of function loss did not change. Conclusions: In this nationally representative cohort, ECH hospitalization was associated with an immediate and pronounced decline in function that was equivalent to accelerating ADL disability by 5 years. After ECH, ADL independence continued to decline and did not recover to pre-ECH levels of independence over time.

DOI10.1161/circ.144.suppl_1.10778
Citation Key11992