People age 65 and older account for one-third of all hospital admissions nationwide. They also are five times more likely to die during their hospitalization than younger patients, according to new government figures.
They represented 13 million of the 38 million hospitalizations — nearly 35% — in 2002, according to recently reported data from the Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Those 65 and older represent just 12% of the population.
Elderly individuals were most often hospitalized for congestive heart failure, pneumonia, coronary atherosclerosis, cardiac dysrhythmias and heart attack, according to the AHRQ. The largest numbers of in-hospital deaths among elderly patients were associated with pneumonia, heart attack, septicemia, stroke and congestive heart failure. They represented nearly a quarter of a million deaths in the nation’s hospital in 2002.
The AHRQ data is contained in a recently released fact book titled “Hospitalization in the United States, 2002.”
