Skip to main content

Posthospitalization Meal Delivery Boosts Outcomes for Older Adults

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2023 -- Posthospitalization home-delivered meals for older adults with and without heart failure is associated with lower 30-day rehospitalization and mortality, according to a study published online June 25 in JAMA Health Forum.

Huong Q. Nguyen, Ph.D., R.N., from Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, and colleagues assessed the impact of a four-week posthospitalization home-delivered meals benefit with the composite outcome of 30-day rehospitalization and death in members of Medicare Advantage. Analysis included 4,032 older adults with hospital admission for heart failure and 7,944 with non-heart failure admission.

The researchers found that the unadjusted rates of 30-day death and rehospitalization for the meals, no meals-2019, and no meals-2021/2022 cohorts of heart failure patients were 23.3, 30.1, and 38.5 percent, respectively; for non-heart failure patients, the corresponding values were 16.5, 22.4, and 32.9 percent. Among patients with heart failure, receipt of meals was significantly associated with lower odds of 30-day death and rehospitalization compared with the no meals-2021/2022 cohort (odds ratio [OR], 0.55; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.43 to 0.71), but this difference was not significant compared to the no meals-2019 cohort (OR, 0.86; 95 percent CI, 0.72 to 1.04). For patients without heart failure, receipt to meals was associated with significantly lower odds of 30-day death and rehospitalization.

"Provision of nutritional support after hospitalization may improve outcomes in older adults," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted June 2023

Read this next

Diet-Induced Inflammation Positively Tied to Marker of Heart Failure

THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 -- There is a positive correlation between diet-induced inflammation and a heart failure biomarker, according to a study published online June 5...

Risk for Kidney Complications Increased After Heart Failure Hospitalization

WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2024 -- Older adults with heart failure have considerable risk for kidney complications, with 6 percent progressing to dialysis at one year after...

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Risk for Mortality

TUESDAY, June 4, 2024 -- Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk for all-cause mortality, which is partly explained by multiple cardiometabolic...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.