The impact of socioeconomic status, feeding patterns, and age on eligibility for discharging medical patients

Aims: The study investigates the influence of socioeconomic, age, and nutritional status on discharge eligibility in older adults, focusing on recovery. Understanding discharge time based on patient criteria can aid in managing hospital policies and achieving optimal patient outcomes. Methods: This retrospective observational research focuses on hospitalized individuals aged 65 and above at King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, Jordan. The study adheres to Helsinki guidelines and focuses on demographic data, nutritional information, and socioeconomic statuses. Patients were categorized into two age groups: those over 75 years and those aged 65 to 75 years. The study used subjective global evaluation and resource-based metrics to evaluate nutritional condition and socioeconomic status. Lower nutritional statuses were classified as malnourished patients, while higher nutritional levels were classified as normal nourishment. Patients were divided into two groups based on their length of hospital stay (HLOS), with the latter being geriatric patients with an overall HLOS of 7 days or more. The study used serial binary logistic regression analyses to examine the association between prognostic factors, dietary patterns, and age, and the propensity for early discharge. The results were analyzed using chi-square statistical tests and 95% confidence ranges. Results: A retrospective observational study found that 23.56% of geriatric patients admitted had hospitality days stay of less than one week, while 76.44% had longer admission stay days. Gender disparities were significant, with more men in Group II (longer admission stay days) than in Group I (shorter stay days). Longer admission days had greater distribution rates for patients aged ≥75 years, while shorter hospital stays were higher for younger patients. Hospital length of stay varied significantly among groups for patients with body mass indices (BMIs > 30 kg/m²). The majority of medically hospitalized patients had a BMI of less than 30 kg/m². No significant differences were found between the two admission days comparative groups when assessing socioeconomic statuses. Conclusion: Our statistical analyses revealed a significant regressional association regarding patients ageing against the propensity for extended HLOS (0.983±0.192, p-value=0.000) but insignificant for socioeconomical and nutritional statuses at admission (0.129±0.201, p-value=0.521) and (-0.143±0.201, p-value=0.478), respectively, with an estimate propensity ratios of 2.672 (95% CI; 1.834-3.892), 1.138 (95% CI; 0.767-1.688), and 0.867 (95% CI; 0.584-1.286), respectively.