title: Associations between Depressive Symptoms and 30-day Hospital Readmission among Older Adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hospital readmissions are common and costly. Our goal was to determine the association between depressive symptoms and readmission within 30 days following hospital discharge in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data from a study of 789 persons aged 65 years or older admitted to a 20-bed acute care for elders (ACE) hospital unit from May 2009 to July 2011. Depressive symptoms were recorded within 24-hours of admission to the hospital unit, using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies -Depression (CES-D) Scale. The primary outcome was readmission to hospital within 30 days of discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 77 years; 66% were female, 72% were White, and 59% were unmarried. On average, older patients reported 2.6 comorbid conditions. Sixteen percent were classified with high depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥ 16). The readmission rate within 30 days was 15%. Older patients with high depressive symptoms had more than 1.6 times the odds (OR 1.66; 95% CI: 1.01-2.74) of being readmitted within 30-days, as compared to those with low depressive symptoms (CES-D < 16), after adjustment for age, race/ethnicity, sex, marital status and comorbid conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High depressive symptoms increased the risk of hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge after adjusting for relevant covariates. In-hospital screening for depressive symptoms may identify older persons at risk for recurrent hospital admissions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Ivonne M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Berges
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Sania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amr
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Gerontology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Glenn V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Ostir
keywords: Depression; Hospital readmission; Older adults