Factors Associated With Hospital Admission for Older Adults Receiving Care in U.S. Emergency Departments.
BACKGROUND
Emergency departments (EDs) play a growing role in hospital admissions for older adults, yet nationally representative data on predictors of admission from the EDs are limited.


METHODS
We examined sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics associated with non-ICU admissions, using National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data and multivariate Poisson regression models.


RESULTS
There were an estimated 175 million ED visits by adults older than 65 years from 2001 to 2010. Overall, 32.5% were admitted to non-ICU beds. In multivariate analysis, non-ICU admission was associated with increasing age (16% higher per 10-year increase in age), white versus black race (35% vs 31%), and EDs in the Northeast (40%) or Midwest (38%) versus South (31%) or West (30%).


CONCLUSIONS
Non-ICU admission rates for older adults receiving care in U.S. EDs vary by age, race, and region. Understanding the reasons for these disparities in hospitalization rates may guide interventions to reduce hospitalizations in older adults.
Department of Emergency Medicine.
Alexander X
AX
Lo
Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Kellie L
KL
Flood
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Kevin
K
Biese
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Timothy F
TF
Platts-Mills
Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
John P
JP
Donnelly
Division of Emergency Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Christopher R
CR
Carpenter
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003710:Demography; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
Emergency department utilization; Health disparities; Hospitalization