"Risk" factors affecting readmission of the elderly into the health care system.

One hundred one patients, 70 years and older, who were discharged to the community from an acute-care hospital were followed for 1 year to isolate risk factors affecting the probability of readmission. A total of five interviews were conducted with each patient. Postdischarge outcome at any point in time was defined as either readmission to a health care institution or continuous survival in the community. At 1 year, 47 individuals had experienced at least one unplanned readmission. Logistic regressions were used to study risk factors influencing the probability of readmission at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after release from the hospital. In the short run, sex, being widowed, a weighted severity-of-illness factor, and life satisfaction were significant; previous hospitalization and admission and discharge location were additional variables significant in the long run. An explanation is offered for why some risk factors useful in postadmission studies do not function as well as risk factors in post-discharge studies.