Mortality after chronic subdural hematoma is associated with frailty

Jurre Blaauw*, Bram Jacobs, Heleen M. den Hertog, Niels A. van der Gaag, Korne Jellema, Ruben Dammers, Kuan H. Kho, Rob J. M. Groen, Joukje van der Naalt, Hester F. Lingsma

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Purpose Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common neurological disease often affecting the elderly. Long-term excess mortality for patients after CSDH has been suggested but causes of death are unknown. We hypothesize that excess mortality of CSDH patients is related to frailty. In this article, we describe mortality rates and causes of death of CSDH patients compared with the general population and assess the association of frailty with mortality. Methods A cohort study in which consecutive CSDH patients were compared to the general population regarding mortality rates. Furthermore, the association of six frailty indicators (cognitive problems, frequent falling, unable to live independently, unable to perform daily self-care, use of benzodiazepines or psychotropic drugs, and number of medications) with mortality was assessed. Results A total of 1307 CSDH patients were included, with a mean age of 73.7 (SD +/- 11.4) years and 958 (73%) were male. Median follow-up was 56 months (range: 0-213). Compared with controls CSDH patients had a hazard ratio for mortality of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.2-1.5). CSDH patients more often died from cardiovascular diseases (37% vs. 30%) and falls (7.2% vs. 3.7%). Among CSDH patients frequent falling (HR 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0-1.7), inability to live independently (HR 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.8), inability to perform daily self-care (HR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-1.9), and number of medications used (HR 1.0; 95% CI: 1.0-1.1) were independently associated with mortality. Conclusions CSDH patients have higher mortality rates than the general population. Frailty in CSDH patients is associated with higher mortality risk. More attention for the frailty of CSDH patients is warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3133-3141
Number of pages9
JournalActa Neurochirurgica
Volume164
Issue number12
Early online date29 Sept 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
ZonMw/The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (project number 843002824) provided financial support in the form of funding. The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of this research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

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