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Risk factors for frequent unplanned hospital visits in older multimorbid patients after an emergency department visit : a retrospective cohort study

Taegil, August ; Björkelund, Anders LU ; Ekdahl, Anne LU orcid ; Biegus, Karol LU ; Ekelund, Ulf LU orcid ; Björk, Jonas LU orcid and Forberg, Jakob Lundager LU (2025) In Aging clinical and experimental research
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hospital readmissions are common among older multimorbid patients, and hospitalisation is associated with functional decline and reduced quality of life. Identifying patient characteristics and risk factors for repeated hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) encounter is important for guiding targeted interventions to prevent future revisits.

AIM: To characterise multimorbid older patients with frequent unplanned hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) visit, compare them to those with fewer revisits, and identify risk factors for frequent unplanned hospital revisits.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 25 436 multimorbid patients aged ≥ 75 years who visited 8 EDs in Sweden in 2017... (More)

BACKGROUND: Hospital readmissions are common among older multimorbid patients, and hospitalisation is associated with functional decline and reduced quality of life. Identifying patient characteristics and risk factors for repeated hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) encounter is important for guiding targeted interventions to prevent future revisits.

AIM: To characterise multimorbid older patients with frequent unplanned hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) visit, compare them to those with fewer revisits, and identify risk factors for frequent unplanned hospital revisits.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 25 436 multimorbid patients aged ≥ 75 years who visited 8 EDs in Sweden in 2017 was performed. Patients with ≥ 3 ED visits or unplanned hospital admissions in the following year were classified as frequent hospital visitors. Their characteristics were compared to those of infrequent visitors, and binomial logistic regression was used to identify factors predictive of frequent hospital visits.

RESULTS: An increasing number of hospital visits in the prior 12 months (odds ratio (OR) 1.25 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.21-1.29) and an increasing number of comorbidities (OR 1.11 95% CI 1.09-1.13) were the most impactful risk factors for multiple unplanned hospital revisits. Female sex (OR 0.81 95% CI 0.75-0.88) was the most important protective factor.

CONCLUSION: A history of frequent hospital visits was the strongest risk factor for future unplanned hospital visits. Several other factors were also identified, suggesting the potential for predictive models to identify at-risk patients before frequent visits occur.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Aging clinical and experimental research
publisher
Kurtis
external identifiers
  • pmid:41420793
ISSN
1720-8319
DOI
10.1007/s40520-025-03280-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© 2025. The Author(s).
id
f6783892-da28-4e80-925e-4c7e90391db1
date added to LUP
2026-01-02 12:43:51
date last changed
2026-01-05 10:24:55
@article{f6783892-da28-4e80-925e-4c7e90391db1,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Hospital readmissions are common among older multimorbid patients, and hospitalisation is associated with functional decline and reduced quality of life. Identifying patient characteristics and risk factors for repeated hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) encounter is important for guiding targeted interventions to prevent future revisits.</p><p>AIM: To characterise multimorbid older patients with frequent unplanned hospital visits following an emergency department (ED) visit, compare them to those with fewer revisits, and identify risk factors for frequent unplanned hospital revisits.</p><p>METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 25 436 multimorbid patients aged ≥ 75 years who visited 8 EDs in Sweden in 2017 was performed. Patients with ≥ 3 ED visits or unplanned hospital admissions in the following year were classified as frequent hospital visitors. Their characteristics were compared to those of infrequent visitors, and binomial logistic regression was used to identify factors predictive of frequent hospital visits.</p><p>RESULTS: An increasing number of hospital visits in the prior 12 months (odds ratio (OR) 1.25 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.21-1.29) and an increasing number of comorbidities (OR 1.11 95% CI 1.09-1.13) were the most impactful risk factors for multiple unplanned hospital revisits. Female sex (OR 0.81 95% CI 0.75-0.88) was the most important protective factor.</p><p>CONCLUSION: A history of frequent hospital visits was the strongest risk factor for future unplanned hospital visits. Several other factors were also identified, suggesting the potential for predictive models to identify at-risk patients before frequent visits occur.</p>}},
  author       = {{Taegil, August and Björkelund, Anders and Ekdahl, Anne and Biegus, Karol and Ekelund, Ulf and Björk, Jonas and Forberg, Jakob Lundager}},
  issn         = {{1720-8319}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{Kurtis}},
  series       = {{Aging clinical and experimental research}},
  title        = {{Risk factors for frequent unplanned hospital visits in older multimorbid patients after an emergency department visit : a retrospective cohort study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40520-025-03280-5}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s40520-025-03280-5}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}