Serum Vitamin D Concentration and Short-Term Mortality among Geriatric Inpatients in Acute Care Settings

Introduction: Vitamin D insufficiency is related to acute medical conditions known to increase the risk of short-term death in older adults. The objective of this study was to determine whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations were associated with the occurrence of in-hospital mortality in geriatric acute care settings while taking into account all characteristics likely to improve the rate of in-hospital mortality. Methods: Three hundred ninety-nine Caucasian adults admitted between January and October 2009 to the geriatric acute care unit of Angers University Hospital, France were included in this cross-sectional study. The occurrence of all-cause in-hospital death and the measurement of serum 25OHD were assessed. Age, gender, body mass index, supine systolic blood pressure, numbers of acute diseases, chronic diseases, and hospital days, serum albumin, creatinine clearance, and season of hospital admission were used as potential confounders. Results: Mean serum 25OHD was 34.8 +/- 1.7 nmol/L. Seventeen deaths occurred in the acute care unit. Only serum 25OHD concentration was significantly and independently associated with in-hospital death ( adjusted odds ratio [ OR] 0.65; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.96; P=0.029 for full adjusted logistic regression. OR 0.87; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.99; P=0.029 for step-wise backward model). Conclusion: Increased serum 25OHD concentrations were associated with a low in-hospital mortality rate in this cohort of acute care geriatric inpatients. It is not only a new orientation of research, but also an additional argument for prescribing vitamin D in deficient older adults.