Living alone ups risk for any hospitalization in patients with heart failure
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Key takeaways:
- Living alone was associated with elevated risk for any hospitalization among people with heart failure.
- Researchers did not observe a link between living alone and all-cause death in patients with heart failure.
Adults with HF who reported living alone were more likely to be hospitalized for any reason compared with those who reported living with others, according to data from a meta-analysis.
“Previous research has confirmed that a series of psychosocial factors such as cognitive impairment, depression and anxiety are linked to an increased risk of hospitalization or death in patients with HF,” Fuwei Liu, MS, of the department of cardiology at the Affiliated Ganzhou Hospital of Nanchang University in Ganzhou, China, and colleagues wrote. “However, in the management of patients with HF, people always ignore the influence of social and psychological factors. Individualized treatment of HF patients should always be centered on their social background, and the overall risk factors should be controlled to improve their prognosis. One of the most prevalent psychological variables is living alone.”
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In a meta-analysis, Liu and colleagues analyzed data from seven observational or randomized controlled studies that reported on the relationship between living alone and adverse outcomes in HF, using death and/or hospitalization as outcomes.
The findings were published in Clinical Cardiology.
According to pooled effect estimates by a random-effects model, living alone was associated with an elevated risk for any hospitalization at 30-day (HR = 1.78; 95% CI, 1.09-2.89), 90-day (HR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.02-1.51) or at least 1-year (HR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.04-1.26) follow‐up periods compared with living with others.
Patients with HF who reported living alone also had a greater risk for any hospitalization or death at 30 days (HR = 1.56; 95% CI, 1.15-2.11), 90 days (HR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.05-1.5) and at least 1 year (HR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.09-1.28). However, patients living alone had no increased risk for all‐cause death at any follow-up point.
The researchers noted that the studies were highly heterogeneous with a small number of patients with HF and no long‐term follow‐up, with more research needed on possible interventions.
“It was unclear whether targeted interventions for people living alone would be beneficial based on the findings of this study,” the researchers wrote. “Intervention trials are required to determine whether interventions such as extra help at home, day care or remote monitoring are beneficial.”
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