Trends in Elderly Hospitalizations, 1997-2004. Statistical Brief No. 14

摘要

The elderly population in the U.S. is projected to more than double from approximately 35 million in 2000 (12 percent of the U.S. population) to an estimated 71 million in 2030 (20 percent of the U.S. population). As the American population continues to age, the demand for hospital care will increase rapidly since elderly individuals are at high risk for costly, age-associated chronic diseases and other health conditions. This Statistical Brief presents data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) summarizing information about hospital stays for elderly individuals, age 65 and older, from 1997 to 2004. Specifically, this brief notes the most frequent reasons for hospitalizations among older patients, with a focused look at the characteristics of six select health conditions: congestive heart failure, pneumonia, acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute cerebrovascular disease (stroke), and osteoarthritis. These conditions were selected based on volume as well as relevance to the priority conditions identified by the Department of Health and Human Services for research under the Medicare Modernization Act. All differences between estimates provided in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level or better.