Vitamin D deficiency was the best predictor of older patient death in hospital

Serum vitamin D concentration and short-term mortality among geriatric inpatients in acute care settings.

Adv Ther. 2010 May 14.

Annweiler C, Pochic S, Fantino B, Legrand E, Bataille R, Montero-Odasso M, Beauchet O.

Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Angers University Hospital, Angers University Memory Center, UPRES EA 2646, University of Angers, UNAM, 49933 Angers Cedex 9, Angers, France, [email protected].

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D insufficiency is related to acute medical conditions known to increase the risk of short-term death in older adults. The objective of this study was to determine whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations were associated with the occurrence of in-hospital mortality in geriatric acute care settings while taking into account all characteristics likely to improve the rate of in-hospital mortality.

METHODS: Three hundred ninety-nine Caucasian adults admitted between January and October 2009 to the geriatric acute care unit of Angers University Hospital, France were included in this cross-sectional study.

The occurrence of all-cause in-hospital death and the measurement of serum 25OHD were assessed.

  • Age,

  • gender,

  • body mass index,

  • supine systolic blood pressure,

  • numbers of acute diseases,

  • chronic diseases, and

  • hospital days,

  • serum albumin,

  • creatinine clearance, and

  • season of hospital admission

were used as potential confounders.

RESULTS: Mean serum 25OHD was 34.88+/-1.7 nmol/L. Seventeen deaths occurred in the acute care unit.

Only serum 25OHD concentration was significantly and independently associated with in-hospital death

(adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.65; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.96; P=0.029 for full adjusted logistic regression. OR 0.87; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.99; P=0.029 fo or step-wise backward model).

CONCLUSION: Increased serum 25OHD concentrations were associated with a low in-hospital mortality rate in this cohort of acute care geriatric inpatients.

It is not only a new orientation of research, but also an additional argument for prescribing vitamin D in deficient older adults.

PMID: 20473599

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