Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 7, 2004|Volume 32, Number 29|Two-Week Issue

In elderly, recovery from injuries often good, but short-lived, say researchers

About four out of every five newly disabled elderly people regain the ability to live independently within six months of their disabling event, a higher recovery rate than previously reported, according to a study at Yale.

While this is a positive result, the researchers also found that the recovery may be short-lived. "The chance of recovery from an episode of disability is excellent," says Susan E. Hardy, postdoctoral fellow in geriatrics at the School of Medicine. "However, once older people recover, they are at very high risk for recurrent episodes of disability. Future research needs to develop ways to help older people who are newly recovered to maintain their independence."

The majority of people in the study who recovered from disability maintained their independence for at least six months. But for many, recovery was brief, especially among people with a disability lasting two or more months. The researchers said that while the short-term prognosis for recovery is good, for many older people the findings of recurring disability suggest the need to prevent the initial episode of disability and also to prevent subsequent reoccurrences.

Hardy and co-author Thomas M. Gill, associate professor of internal medicine/geriatrics at the School of Medicine, used data from a four-year study to evaluate the recovery process among 754 New Haven residents ages 70 or older. The study measured disability in terms of activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, walking or getting out of a chair.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Research Program funded the research.

The Yale Pepper Center, where the study was conducted, focuses on development and testing of multi-disciplinary interventions aimed at maintaining and/or improving the functional ability of older people. It is one of 10 such centers funded by the NIH.

-- By Karen Peart

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Alpern named as new medical school dean

Sixteen honored for strengthening town-gown ties

Author Fadiman named first Francis Writer in Residence

Yale counselor helped ease grief of war-torn families in Kosovo and Iraq

Media failed to 'connect the dots' before 9/11, journalist says

With a hoisting of tentacles, giant squid returns to Peabody

Alumni delegates explore issues . . .

Threatened nation-state is topic of two-day YCIAS conference

Event showcasing medical students' original research . . .

New center offers treatment for primary immunodeficiencies

The letters of literary figures are featured in Beinecke exhibit

In elderly, recovery from injuries often good . . .

Study: For-profit hospices offer fewer services than non-profits

Chemotherapy agent called cisplatin effectively transmits . . .

Scientists learn more about bond of water molecules, protons

New fund will support YSN faculty's initiatives to improve health care

Juniors are recognized for scholarship and character

'Modernist Voices' will explore themes in American and British literature

Dr. Terri Fried lauded for her work in geriatric patient care and research

Event explores new advances in chemical biology

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes