Factors Associated with Improvement in Activities of Daily Living during Hospitalization: A Retrospective Study of Older Patients with Hip Fractures

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to examine the changes in delirium during hospitalization of patients and its association with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), as well as improvements in activities of daily living (ADL). METHODS: A longitudinal, retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 83 older adults (≥65 years) with hip fractures. We collected Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Functional Independence Measure-motor domain (m-FIM) assessment results from the medical charts at two time points: baseline (first week of hospitalization) and pre-discharge (final week before discharge). Additionally, we collected data on delirium and BPSD at three points: baseline, week 2 post-admission, and pre-discharge. We performed univariate logistic regression analysis using changes in m-FIM scores as the dependent variable and MMSE and m-FIM scores at baseline and pre-discharge, along with delirium and BPSD subtypes at baseline, week 2 post-admission, and pre-discharge, as the explanatory variables. Finally, we performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis incorporating the significant variables from the univariate analysis to identify factors associated with ADL improvement during hospitalization. RESULTS: We observed significant correlations between ADL improvement during hospitalization and baseline m-FIM and MMSE scores, hypoactive delirium state, and BPSD subtype pre-discharge. Notably, all participants with hypoactive symptoms before discharge exhibited some subtype of delirium and BPSD at baseline. CONCLUSION: Besides ADL ability and cognitive function at admission, the presence of hypoactive delirium and BPSD subtype before discharge may hinder ADL improvement during hospitalization.