title: Predictive effects of muscle strength after hospitalization in old patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Frailty is a common situation that often influences clinical outcomes, disability or institutionalization. The present study aims to evaluate the weight of hand grip strength (HGS) reduction in terms of death or re-hospitalizations, at 3-month and 1-year follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study performed on hospitalized patients aged 65 years or more. The HGS was measured twice: at hospital admission and discharge. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, version 18 for Windows. The χ (2) test was used to evaluate the relationship between HGS and different variables. Three-month and 1-year survival and hospital re-admissions have been analyzed using Kaplan-Meier's curves. The analyses have been adjusted for age and gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 201 hospitalized patients have been recruited. Of them, 76 were males. The mean age was 81.79 ± 7.409 years. Of all the patients enrolled, 66.2 and 45.3 % did not show any impairment performing activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, respectively. Moreover, patients were not cognitively impaired [SPMSQ (short portable mental status questionnaire ) m ± SD = 1.47 ± 0.794]. At 3-month follow-up patients with strength reduction had a relative risk of death more than seven times higher than the others (p = 0.047). Same results were observed at 1-year follow-up (95 % CI = 1.85-9.84; p = 0.000). There was no significant relationship between HGS and hospital re-admissions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effects of strength reduction occurring during a period of hospitalization could produce effects even after hospitalization itself. This increases the relevance of maintaining usual physical performance of patients even during hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Division, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043, Orbassano (Turin), Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isaia
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Greppi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pastorino
authors.forename: Erika Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bersano
authors.forename: Sokol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rrodhe
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aimonino Ricauda
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Molinar Roet
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanocchi
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission