SPECIAL FEATURE - IMPORTANCE OF COMORBID ILLNESSES IN PREDICTING MORTALITY FOR GERIATRIC REHABILITATION

The health of patients referred to geriatric rehabilitation programs i nfluences their long-term outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the importance of comorbid medical illnesses in predicting mor tality for a geriatric rehabilitation sample independent of other demo graphic and clinical characteristics. Using a cohort of 667 inpatients followed between 1 and 3 years at an urban rehabilitation hospital, i t was found that more severe comorbid medical illnesses (measured with the Charlson Index), worse physical function, older age, and male sex independently predicted shorter time to death. The Charlson Index rep resents an important additional tool for assessing health status in ol der adults receiving rehabilitation.