Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Detrimental affect on long-term survival

Lower socio-economic status has more of a detrimental affect on long-term survival after critical illness, than many other factors, according to a research paper published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Kwok Ho, an intensivist from the Royal Perth Hospital, and his co-authors investigated the link between socio-economic status and outcomes for seriously ill patients in a retrospective study over a 16-year period in Western Australia.

Dr Ho said indicators such as poor education, lower income and the type of occupation, as well as living in a disadvantaged area, were a determinant of outcomes for many diseases.

“Socio-economic status has a significant adverse effect on a critically ill patient’s long-term survival over and above the background effects of age, severity of the acute illness, comorbidities, Indigenous status and geographical access to essential services.” he said.

More than 15,000 seriously ill patients admitted to intensive care units in WA between 1987 and 2002 were analysed.

“Although socio-economic status was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality, long-term mortality was significantly higher in patients from the most disadvantaged groups.”

Dr Ho said there were at least two possible explanations. 

“Although we adjusted for geographical accessibility of essential services, financial and cultural access to some services may have a significant effect on rehabilitation and long-term survival after critical illness.

“Lower socio-economic status is also associated with some risk factors for poor health outcomes – including smoking, alcohol misuse, poor nutrition, overcrowded accommodation and inadequate physical activity.

“More intensive targeting of such preventable or reversible risk factors in lower socio-economic patients could potentially improve long-term outcomes for these patients.

“Intensive care services are expensive and it would be a waste of resources if the aim of the treatment were only to discharge patients alive from the hospital without optimising their long-term outcome,” he said.

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  2. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  3. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  4. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...
  5. Fueling your body with healthy foods as you age could help...
  6. If you believe you have reached a point of it being too unsafe...

Recent articles

  1. Waiting to update your will and other legal documents could...
  2. Palliative care allows Australians at the end of their lives...
  3. Telstra and Optus are closing their 3G networks on October 28,...
  4. Tax returns must be completed by the end of the months and...
  5. Rental stress is affecting the aged care workers that are...
  6. Why is the Victorian Government providing free public...
  7. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released new data that...
  8. What does Ageism Awareness Day mean for older Australians?
  9. Some robots are used to manufacture car parts, but could...
  10. New Australian Human Rights Commission findings suggest that...
  11. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  12. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close