title: Transferrin saturation and hospital length of stay and mortality in Medicare beneficiaries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate in a large, nationally representative cohort the association between high serum transferrin saturation (TS) and hospital length of stay and mortality in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal analyses of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked to Medicare claims from 1991 through 2006.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older at baseline.
  
  
  METHODS
  Transferrin saturation collected on each participant at baseline was characterized as <20.0%, 20.0% to 54.9%, and 55.0% and greater. Length of stay in the hospital and death in the hospital were primary outcomes. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, and severity of illness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals hospitalized during the study period (79.4%) with high (odds ratio (OR) = 2.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-6.12) or low (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.07-1.62) TS had a significantly greater risk of death than those with moderate TS. Individuals with high TS had longer average length of stay per hospitalization (11.1 days, (standard error, SE 1.7 days), P = .01) than those with moderate TS (8.4 (0.3) days). Individuals with high TS also had more hospital days per year (8.6 (2.0) days, P = .04) than those with moderate TS (6.7 (0.5) days).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High TS is associated with longer length of stay and death in the hospital (unweighted N = 3,847, weighted N = 28,395,464).
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. mainouag@musc.edu
authors.forename: Arch G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Mainous
authors.forename: Vanessa A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Michele E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Knoll
authors.forename: Mary M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hulihan
authors.forename: Althea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Robert U
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality*; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin