Self-rated health as a predictor of mid-term and long-term mortality in older Afro-Caribbeans hospitalised via the emergency department

• Published in: Quality of life research Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 91 - 96
• Main Authors: Godaert, Lidvine, Godard-Sebillotte, C., Saint-Albin, L. Allard, Bousquet, L., Bourdel-Marchasson, I., Fanon, J.-L., Dramé, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer 01-01-2018; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: CLINICAL AND POLICY APPLICATIONS; Life Sciences; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mortality; Public Health; Quality of Life Research; Sociology; West-Indies; Self-rated health; Prognosis; Elderly
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-017-1693-3

Purpose To determine whether self-rated health (SRH) is an independent predictor for mortality in older Afro-Caribbean patients hospitalised for an acute condition. Methods Prospective cohort of patients recruited from the University Hospitals of Martinique Acute Care for Elders unit. Patients aged 75 or older and hospitalised for an acute condition were eligible. The outcome was time to death within the 36-week follow-up. SRH was the explanatory variable of interest. Cox's Proportional Hazards model was used to estimate the relationship between SRH and mortality. Results The 223 patients included in the study were aged 85.1 ± 5.5 years. In total, 123 patients reported "very good to good" health, and 100 "medium to very poor" health. Crude mortality rates at six months, 1, 2, and 3 years were 30.5, 34.8, 48.4, and 57.0%, respectively. By multivariate analysis, SRH reached significant relationship for all mortality timepoints. The adjusted hazard ratios for subjects who perceived their health as medium, poor or very poor was 1.6-2.7 times greater than that of subjects who reported good or very good health. Conclusion Assessment of SRH could have implications for clinical practice, particularly in helping practitioners to better estimate prognosis in the acute care settings.