Acute hospitalisation can accelerate cognitive decline in older adults

Hospitalisation may be a more of a major risk factor for long-term cognitive decline in older adults than previously recognised, a new study finds.According to researchers at the Rush University, emergency and urgent hospitalisations are associated with an increased rate of cognitive decline in older adults. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Neurology."We found that those who have non-elective (emergency or urgent) hospitalisations and who have not previously been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease had a rapid decline in cognitive function (i.e., thinking abilities) compared to the prehospital rates," said Bryan James, a researcher. "By comparison, people who were never hospitalized and those who had elective hospitalizations did not experience the drastic decline in cognitive function."The study compares hospitalisation data and cognitive assessments for 777 older adults. It involved annual cognitive assessments and clinical evaluations.Of the 777 .