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Reasons for Hospital Admission in New Zealand's Oldest Old
Author(s) -
Wilkinson Tim J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.1999.tb00102.x
Subject(s) - medicine , mood , stroke (engine) , occupancy , rehabilitation , mood disorders , pediatrics , hospital admission , mortality rate , demography , emergency medicine , gerontology , physical therapy , psychiatry , anxiety , mechanical engineering , ecology , sociology , engineering , biology
Objectives: To determine: the important causes of morbidity in New Zealand's oldest old, as measured by those conditions requiring hospital admission; the types of conditions which show continued increases in hospital admission or bed occupancy rates with age; the types of conditions which have lower admission or occupancy rates among the oldest‐old group compared with the younger‐old groups. Design: Descriptive survey of all hospital admissions within an entire country over 12 months. Results: Bed occupancy rates increase with age. Hospital admission rates increase with age but decline for people aged 100 years and over. Admissions due to cognitive/mood disorders and ill‐defined conditions increase with age to over 100 years. The age specific rate of hospital admission due to fractures or accidents peaks for people aged 90–99 years. Admissions due to cancer, ischaemic heart disease or eye disorders peak for people aged 80–89 years. Stroke and cognitive/mood disorders contribute significantly to bed occupancy at all age groups although bed occupancy rates decline for fractures and stroke after the 90–99 year decade. Arthritis, stroke and cognitive/mood disorders contribute to bed occupancy relatively more than to admission rates. Conclusions: Stroke, cognitive/mood disorders, fractures and arthritis are significant causes of morbidity in New Zealand's oldest old. The rate of admission to hospital with fractures, accidents and stroke peaks for people aged 90–99 years and is less common in centenarians. Less specific presentations of disease occur in the older populations.