Factors associated with emergency department revisits among older adults in two Swedish regions: A prospective cohort study

Objectives: To assess the association between baseline characteristics at an index ED visit and ED revisit within 30 days among adults aged ≥ 65 years in two Swedish regions.

Methods: This was a register-based prospective cohort study. The sample included (N=16 688; N=101 017) older adults who have had an index ED visit in 2014 at hospital based EDs in the regions of Dalarna and Stockholm, Sweden. Several registers were linked to obtain information on sociodemographic factors, living conditions, social care, polypharmacy and health care use. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the data.

Results: Seventeen percent of the study sample in Dalarna and 20.1% in Stockholm revisited ED within 30 days after an index ED visit. In both regions, male gender, being in the last year of life, excessive polypharmacy (≥ 10 drugs), ≥11 primary care visits and ED care utilization were positively associated with ED revisits. In Stockholm, but not in Dalarna, low level of education, polypharmacy, and institutional care was also associated with ED revisits. In contrast, home help was associated with ED revisits in Dalarna but not in Stockholm.

Conclusion: These findings call for further in-depth examinations of variations within single countries. ED revisits among older adults are driven by need of care but also by the social and care situation.