Orthostatic hypotension, falls and in-hospital mortality among elderly patients with and without type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the association of falls and in-hospital mortality with the presence of orthostatic hypotension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The study also aims to identify whether the orthostatic hypotension assessed at 1 min or at 3 min can predict falls and mortality, as a secondary objective to identify the predictors of fall during hospitalization.

METHODS

We performed a prospective study with patients admitted to a university hospital. The risk of falls was assessed using the Morse questionnaire and the presence of falls was verified by the patient's medical records during hospitalization. The orthostatic hypotension was determined by measuring blood pressure at three times, considering as orthostatic hypotension the reduction of at least 20 mmHg in SBP or 10 mmHg in DBP. In-hospital mortality was consulted in the medical records.

RESULTS

Patients with orthostatic hypotension were slower on Timed Up and Go test (TUG) (12.26 ± 3.16 vs. 16.08 ± 5.96 s, P = 20 s) and presence of orthostatic hypotension. After adjustments, patients with T2D and orthostatic hypotension had a 2.7 times greater risk of in-hospital falls and 1.54 times greater odds of in-hospital mortality when compared with patients without T2D and orthostatic hypotension.

CONCLUSION

In this sample, sedentary patients and those with lower TUG had a higher risk of falls. The prevalence of falls was higher in patients with T2D. The association of T2D with orthostatic hypotension significantly increased both the risk of falls and the risk of in-hospital mortality.