The Role of Subjective Age in Predicting Post-Hospitalization Outcomes of Older Adults.

Introduction: Studies of community-dwelling older adults find subjective age affects health and functional outcomes. This study explored whether younger subjective age serves as a protective factor against hospital-associated physical, cognitive, and emotional decline, well-known consequences of hospitalization among the elderly.

Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of a subsample (N = 262; age: 77.

Assessment of Sleep Duration and Number of Awakenings Based on Ankle and Wrist Actigraphy in Medical Hospitalized Older Patients.

Background: Most studies performed in the hospital assess sleep using self-reports; few rely on actigraphy. Although wrist actigraphy is commonly used for sleep assessment in field studies, in-hospital assessment may be challenging and cumbersome because other more necessary monitoring devices are often attached to patients' upper limbs; these may affect interpretation of wrist activity data. Placement on the ankle may be a viable solution.

Relationship Between Changes in Sedative-Hypnotic Medications Burden and Cognitive Outcomes in Hospitalized Older Adults.

Background: Sedative-hypnotic medications (SHMs) are frequently used in hospitalized older patients, despite undesirable effects on cognitive status. Although previous studies found a significant number of patients experience changes in SHM use during hospitalization, it is unclear which pattern of change leads to hospital-associated cognitive decline (HACD). This study tested the association between patterns of SHM change and HACD.