Tu, WanzhuLi, RuohongStump, Timothy E.Fowler, Nicole R.Carnahan, Jennifer L.Blackburn, JustinSachs, Greg A.Hickman, Susan E.Unroe, Kathleen T.2023-02-172023-02-172022-01Tu, W., Li, R., Stump, T. E., Fowler, N. R., Carnahan, J. L., Blackburn, J., Sachs, G. A., Hickman, S. E., & Unroe, K. T. (2022). Age-specific rates of hospital transfers in long-stay nursing home residents. Age and Ageing, 51(1), afab232. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab2320002-0729, 1468-2834https://hdl.handle.net/1805/31299Introduction hospital transfers and admissions are critical events in the care of nursing home residents. We sought to determine hospital transfer rates at different ages. Methods a cohort of 1,187 long-stay nursing home residents who had participated in a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid demonstration project. We analysed the number of hospital transfers of the study participants recorded by the Minimum Data Set. Using a modern regression technique, we depicted the annual rate of hospital transfers as a smooth function of age. Results transfer rates declined with age in a nonlinear fashion. Rates were the highest among residents younger than 60 years of age (1.30-2.15 transfers per year), relatively stable between 60 and 80 (1.17-1.30 transfers per year) and lower in those older than 80 (0.77-1.17 transfers per year). Factors associated with increased risk of transfers included prior diagnoses of hip fracture (annual incidence rate ratio or IRR: 2.057, 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.240, 3.412]), dialysis (IRR: 1.717, 95% CI: [1.313, 2.246]), urinary tract infection (IRR: 1.755, 95% CI: [1.361, 2.264]), pneumonia (IRR: 1.501, 95% CI: [1.072, 2.104]), daily pain (IRR: 1.297, 95% CI: [1.055,1.594]), anaemia (IRR: 1.229, 95% CI [1.068, 1.414]) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (IRR: 1.168, 95% CI: [1.010,1.352]). Transfer rates were lower in residents who had orders reflecting preferences for comfort care (IRR: 0.79, 95% CI: [0.665, 0.936]). Discussion younger nursing home residents may require specialised interventions to reduce hospital transfers; declining transfer rates with the oldest age groups may reflect preferences for comfort-focused care.en-USPublisher Policyagehospital transitionnursing home residentsolder peopleArticle