AGE, BODY MASS INDEX, AND ALBUMIN IN HOSPITALIZED ELDERLY

I Made Wisnu Wardhana1, R.A. Tuty Kuswardhani2

1
Department of Internal Medicine of Sanglah Hospital, Udayana University Denpasar
2
Department of Internal Medicine of Sanglah Hospital, Geriatric and gerontology
division, Udayana University Denpasar

Abstract
Objectives: Elderly patients are more prone to get hospitalized. There still unclear
about the correlation of age, albumin, and body mass index (BMI) in elderly patients
as a risk factor for getting hospitalized. This research aimed to examine the
relationships between age, serum albumin, and body mass index (BMI) among
elderly that has been hospitalized recently.
Method: An analysis of 69 cases of elderly patients was done in Sanglah general
hospital Denpasar. Patients was an elderly whose age are 60 and above, with no
regards to either surgical or medical condition that made the patient admitted to the
hospital. Patients then got laboratory examination to measure their serum albumin
level, as well as counting their body weight and height, also taking their age
according to their chronological age. The analysis was calculated using Spearman’s
correlation test.
Results: Among this 69 eligible elderly patients, there is 36 patients with infection
ranging from urinary tract infection to pulmonary infection and 33 patients without
infection. From analyses we find that by using spearman’s correlation coefficient
there is a significant correlation (p:0.000) between age with body mass index which
is a negative correlation in nature with moderate strength (r:-0.466). We also find that
there is a significant correlation (p:0.000) between body mass index with albumin
which is positive correlation in nature with moderate strength (r:0.444). There is no
significant correlations between age with serum albumin level (p:0.061).
Conclusion: Advanced age, low body mass index (in the presence of chronic
comorbidity), and low albumin are associated with elderly getting hospitalized.