Heart failure as a predictor of functional dependence in hospitalized elderly

We investigated medical records and assessed dependence to BADL (by the Katz Index) of 100 elderly admitted to a geriatric ward of a university hospital. In order to verify if HF is a predictor of functional dependence, linear regression analyzes were performed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of HF was 21%; 95% of them were dependent for BADLs. Bathing was the most committed ADL. HF is a predictor of dependence in hospitalized elderlies, increasing the chance of functional decline by 5 times (95% CI, 0.94-94.48), the chance of functional deterioration by 3.5 times (95% CI, 1.28-11.66; p <0.02) and reducing 0.79 points in the Katz Index score (p <0.05).

CONCLUSION

HF is a dependency predictor of ADL in hospitalized elderly, who tend to be more dependent, especially for bathing.

Descriptors
Insuficiência Cardíaca; Idoso; Hospitalização; Atividades Cotidianas; Banho

	Total	No HF	With HF	p-value ^* * Student's t-test;
General characteristics of the sample (n=100)
Sex [n(%)]	100(100.0)	79 (79.0%)	21 (21.0%)
Age (mean±SD)	79.2±7.5	78.9±7.6	80.7±7.0	0.317
Comorbidities	4.0±1.8	3.8±1.7	4.9±1.7	0.008
Prescribed medication	10.4±3.5	10.1±3.2	11.4±4.3	0.131
Katz index (mean±SD)	2.6±2.2	2.9±2.3	1.5±1.9	0.007

Characterization of HF cases (n=21)
Personal history of HF [n (%)] ^† † in relation to total;	21 (21)
NYHA Functional Class [n (%)]^†† †† in relation to HF group.
FCI	3 (15)
FCII	9 (42)
FCIII	6 (28)
FCIV	3 (15)
LVEF% [n (%)] ^†† †† in relation to HF group.
≤55%	13 (61.9)
> 55%	8; (38.1)

				Sex		Total	p-value ^* * Fisher's exact test.
				Men	Women	Total	p-value ^* * Fisher's exact test.
No previous diagnosis of HF	Dependency Level	Totally dependent	n(%)	13(16.5%)	25(31.6%)	38(48.1%)	0.000
		Partially dependent	n(%)	7(8.9%)	18(22.8%)	25(31.6%)
		Independent	n(%)	14(17.7%)	2(2.5%)	16(20.3%)
	Total		n(%)	34(43.0%)	45(57.0%)	79(100%)
With previous diagnosis of HF	Dependency Level	Totally dependent	n(%)	7(33.3%)	9(42.9%)	16(76.2%)	0.441
		Partially dependent	n(%)	3(14.3%)	1(4.8%)	4(19.0%)
		Independent	n(%)	0(0%)	1(4.8%)	1(4.8%)
Total			n(%)	10(47.6%)	11(52.4%)	21(100%)

			HF		p-value ^* * Fisher's exact test;	B	p-value ^ Generalized linear regression analysis.	OR	95% CI
			No n(%)	Yes n(%)	p-value ^* * Fisher's exact test;	B	p-value ^ Generalized linear regression analysis.	OR	95% CI
Dependence	Dependent	n(%)	63(63%)	20(20%)	0.11	1.62	0.12	5.08	0.94 - 94.48
Dependence	Independent	n(%)	16(16%)	1(1%)	0.11	1.62	0.12	5.08	0.94 - 94.48
Dependence Level	Totally dependent	n(%)	38(38%)	16(16%)	0.07	1.27	0.02	3.57	1.28 - 11.66
	Partially dependent	n(%)	25(25%)	4(4%)
	Independent	n(%)	16(16%)	1(1%)

Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Enfermagem Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 419 , 05403-000 São Paulo - SP/ Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 3061-7553, - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: reeusp@usp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author: Renata Eloah de Lucena Ferretti-Rebustini. Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 419 - Cerqueira Cesar CEP 05403-000 - São Paulo, SP, Brazil. reloah@usp.br .