Authors
Mikel L Sáez de Asteasu, Mikel Izquierdo, Fabricio Zambom-Ferraresi, Eduardo L Cadore, Chenhui Chenhuichen, Nicolás Martínez-Velilla
Published in
Medicina clinica. Volume 166. Issue 8. Pages 107524. Jun 28, 2026. Epub Jun 28, 2026.
Abstract
Hospitalization is usually linked to dramatic adverse events in older adults, including hospital-associated disability (HAD). Despite advancements in geriatric medicine to mitigate this trend, hospital models have often remained antiquated rather than being designed to minimize the risk of harm and reduce the associated burdens. The objective of this narrative review is to identify the personal and in-hospital process risk factors that may contribute to the development of HAD and determine efficacious therapeutic strategies to reverse these negative consequences. Age, sex, ethnicity, number of comorbidities, frailty, dementia, functional status at hospital admission, and polypharmacy may influence the development of HAD. Additional factors related to hospital processes, including prolonged length of hospital stay, low mobility, malnutrition, muscle function loss, social isolation, and sensory alterations, may increase the risk of HAD. Comprehensive geriatric assessment and in-hospital physical exercise appear to be effective therapeutic strategies for preventing HAD in acutely hospitalized older adults and should be part of the clinical routine. However, further research is necessary to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of new integrative care models to provide optimal and widely accessible treatments.
PMID:
42365812
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Jun 2026.
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