The effect of all-cause hospitalization on cognitive decline in older adults: a longitudinal study using databases of the National Health Insurance Service and the memory clinics of a self-run hospital

Impaired oral health associations with cognitive and motor decline in activities of daily living independence during hospitalization: insights from a post-stroke cohort

PURPOSE

Evidence is scarce on the associations between impaired oral health and cognitive level related to independence in activities of daily living (ADLs) among hospitalized older patients. We aimed to evaluate the associations between baseline oral problems and changes in cognitive level in post-stroke patients.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted, encompassing consecutively hospitalized post-stroke patients. Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG) as a measure of oral health and function was assessed at admission. Primary outcomes included discharge scores for cognitive function assessed by the cognitive domain of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM-cognition) and the corresponding change in FIM-cognition during hospitalization. Another outcome measure was the motor domain of FIM (FIM-motor). Multivariate linear regression analyses were employed to assess the association between baseline ROAG and the designated outcomes, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

RESULTS

Data from 955 patients (mean age 73.2 years; 53.6% men) were included in the analysis. The median ROAG was 10 [9, 12], with 811 patients (84.9%) presenting oral problems. After fully adjusting for confounding factors, the ROAG was significantly and negatively associated with FIM-cognition at discharge (β = -0.107, p = 0.031) and FIM-cognition gain (β = -0.093, p = 0.018). Further, the ROAG was independently and negatively associated with FIM-motor at discharge (β = -0.043, p = 0.013) and FIM-motor gain (β = -0.065, p = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

Oral problems were associated with compromised cognitive levels and a decline in physical function during the hospitalization in post-stroke patients. These results underscore the critical importance of addressing oral health in this patient population.

Delirium Prevention in Early Rehabilitation During Acute Hospitalization and Implementation of Programs Specifically Tailored to Older Patients with Cognitive Impairment: A Scoping Review with Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

No systematic review on delirium prevention within early, hospital-based rehabilitation on implementation of approaches specifically tailored for patients with cognitive impairment (PwCI), such as Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, has been published despite the high relevance of specific medical care in this vulnerable population.

OBJECTIVE

To document design and effectiveness of delirium prevention programs by early rehabilitation during acute, hospital-based medical care and implementation of programs specifically tailored to PwCI.

METHODS

In a three-step approach, we first identified published systematic reviews of hospital-based, early rehabilitation interventions for older persons (>65 years) in relevant databases. In a second step, we screened each single trial of included reviews according to predefined inclusion criteria. In a third step, we analyzed studies with focus on delirium prevention.

RESULTS

Among n = 25 studies identified, almost all intervention programs did not specifically target cognitive impairment (CI). Interventions were heterogeneous (modules: n = 2-19); almost all study samples were mixed/unspecified for cognitive status with more affected patients excluded. Only one study exclusively included delirium patients, and only one included CI patients. Results of random effect meta-analysis showed significant effects of generic programs to reduce delirium incidence during hospitalization by 41% (p < 0.001, odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 0.59 [0.49, 0.71] with modest heterogeneity (I2: 30%).

CONCLUSIONS

Study results document a lack of implementation for delirium prevention programs specifically tailored to PwCI by early, hospital-based rehabilitation. Specifying existing rehab concepts or augmenting them by CI-specific modules may help to develop, optimize, and implement innovative delirium prevention in PwCI in acute medical care.