• XinQi Dong, Melissa A Simon, and Denis Evans.
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. xinqi_dong@rush.edu
• J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Feb 1; 60 (2): 202-9.

ObjectivesTo quantify the relation between reported elder self-neglect and rate of hospitalization in a community population of older adults.DesignProspective population-based study.SettingGeographically defined community in Chicago.ParticipantsCommunity dwelling older adults who participated in the Chicago Health and Aging Project. One thousand one hundred sixty-five of the 6,864 participants in the Chicago Health and Aging Project was reported to social services agency for suspected elder self-neglect.MeasurementsThe primary predictor was elder self-neglect reported to social services agency. The outcome of interest was the annual rate of hospitalization, obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Poisson regression models were used to assess these longitudinal relationships.ResultsThe average annual rate of hospitalization was 0.6 ± 1.3 for participants without elder self-neglect and 1.8 ± 3.2 for those with reported elder self-neglect. After adjusting for sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, medical commorbidities, and cognitive and physical function, older adults who neglected themselves had significantly higher rate of hospitalization (rate ratio = 1.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.39-1.55). Greater severity of self-neglect (mild: standardized parameter estimate (PE) = 0.24, standard error (0.05); moderate: PE = 0.45 (0.03); severe: PE = 0.54, (0.11), all P < .001) was associated with higher annual rates of hospitalization after adjusting for the same confounders. Interaction term analyses suggest that medical conditions, cognitive impairment, and physical disability did not mediate the significant relationship between self-neglect and hospitalization.ConclusionReported elder self-neglect was associated with higher rates of hospitalization in this community population. Greater severity of self-neglect was associated with a greater rate of hospitalization.© 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

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