TY - JOUR
T1 - A study of the impact of influenza on the functional status of frail older people
AU - Barker, William H.
AU - Borisute, Hannah
AU - Cox, Christopher
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1998/3/23
Y1 - 1998/3/23
N2 - Background: Excess hospitalization and death are well-known impacts of influenza on older people; however, little is known regarding the impact of influenza on functional status. We hypothesized that frail older people are at risk of functional decline as an outcome of influenza. Objective: To measure the effect of acute influenza on the physical and mental status of older patients residing in nursing homes. Methods: Our study was conducted on 6 nursing homes that participated in the Medicare Influenza Vaccine Demonstration and experienced laboratory-confirmed outbreaks design was used. One hundred sixteen of 131 residents who developed influenza-like illness and survived at least 4 months served as the case subjects; 127 of 132 residents without influenza-like illness who survived served as the comparison subjects. Measures of functional status 1 to 2 months before outbreak and 1 to 2 months and 3 to 4 months after outbreak were collected from medical records. Matched pairs analyses were conducted to ascertain changes in selected measures of functional status within each of the study groups. Wilcoxon signed rank tests for statistical significance were used. Results: Among surviving case subjects and comparison subjects, 25% and 15.7%, respectively, experienced decline in at least 1 major function (P =.04). Case subjects experienced significant decline in independence in bathing, dressing, and mobility while comparison subjects experienced decline in mental status. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, influenza is observed to cause decline in major physical functions in more than 9% of survivors. Such disabling outcomes constitute an important new measure of impact of influenza on the frail elderly.
AB - Background: Excess hospitalization and death are well-known impacts of influenza on older people; however, little is known regarding the impact of influenza on functional status. We hypothesized that frail older people are at risk of functional decline as an outcome of influenza. Objective: To measure the effect of acute influenza on the physical and mental status of older patients residing in nursing homes. Methods: Our study was conducted on 6 nursing homes that participated in the Medicare Influenza Vaccine Demonstration and experienced laboratory-confirmed outbreaks design was used. One hundred sixteen of 131 residents who developed influenza-like illness and survived at least 4 months served as the case subjects; 127 of 132 residents without influenza-like illness who survived served as the comparison subjects. Measures of functional status 1 to 2 months before outbreak and 1 to 2 months and 3 to 4 months after outbreak were collected from medical records. Matched pairs analyses were conducted to ascertain changes in selected measures of functional status within each of the study groups. Wilcoxon signed rank tests for statistical significance were used. Results: Among surviving case subjects and comparison subjects, 25% and 15.7%, respectively, experienced decline in at least 1 major function (P =.04). Case subjects experienced significant decline in independence in bathing, dressing, and mobility while comparison subjects experienced decline in mental status. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, influenza is observed to cause decline in major physical functions in more than 9% of survivors. Such disabling outcomes constitute an important new measure of impact of influenza on the frail elderly.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032559779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0032559779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1001/archinte.158.6.645
DO - 10.1001/archinte.158.6.645
M3 - Article
C2 - 9521230
AN - SCOPUS:0032559779
VL - 158
SP - 645
EP - 650
JO - Archives of internal medicine (Chicago, Ill. : 1908)
JF - Archives of internal medicine (Chicago, Ill. : 1908)
SN - 2168-6106
IS - 6
ER -