Caracterización de adultos de 60 o más años hospitalizados en un centro de referencia del suroccidente colombiano. 2021-2022

Characterization of adults aged 60 years and older hospitalized in a tertiary care center in southwestern Colombia, 2021-2022

Introducción. El envejecimiento poblacional representa uno de los mayores desafíos para los sistemas de salud. No obstante, la mayoría de los estudios sobre las características de adultos mayores se han realizado en contextos comunitarios.

Objetivo. Describir las características sociodemográficas y clínicas de la población de 60 o más años hospitalizada en una clínica del suroccidente colombiano.

Materiales y métodos. Estudio observacional retrospectivo realizado con los datos de las hospitalizaciones de los pacientes de 60 o más años ingresados entre 2021 y 2022 en la Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar (Cali, Colombia). La información fue obtenida de la base de datos de los Grupos Relacionados por el Diagnóstico (GRD) de la institución, una metodología de agrupación de pacientes basada en criterios de similitud clínica y consumo de recursos sanitarios.

Resultados. Se incluyeron 3 130 admisiones hospitalarias en el análisis para un total de 2 527 pacientes. La mediana de edad fue 79 años y la mediana de tiempo de hospitalización, 5 días. En 58.27%, 65.68% y 64.15% de las hospitalizaciones, los pacientes fueron mujeres, ingresaron a través del servicio de urgencias y solo requirieron manejo médico, respectivamente. La mediana de puntuación en el índice de comorbilidad de Charlson fue 2, en 77.42% de las hospitalizaciones el paciente tenía al menos una comorbilidad, en 69.90% el riesgo de mortalidad fue extremo y en 55.7% el riesgo de estancia prolongada fue alto. En 411 hospitalizaciones el paciente requirió reingreso (definido como ingreso a través de urgencias dentro de los 30 días siguientes al egreso de la última hospitalización y por un motivo relacionado). Las categorías diagnósticas y los GDR más frecuentes fueron enfermedad del aparato digestivo (18.75%) y enfermedad infecciosa (16.67%), y COVID-19 (12.71%) y neumonía y neumonitis (4.31%), respectivamente. La tasa de mortalidad fue 17.29% (n=437).

Conclusión. Los pacientes de 60 o más años hospitalizados en una clínica del suroccidente colombiano entre 2021 y 2022 se caracterizaron por tener una edad muy avanzada y una ligera predominancia del sexo femenino. En la mayoría de las hospitalizaciones, los pacientes ingresaron por el servicio de urgencias y tenían al menos una comorbilidad y un alto riesgo de mortalidad. Aunque la duración de la hospitalización fue más corta que la reportada en la literatura, la tasa de mortalidad fue alta.

Introduction: Population aging represents one of the greatest challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. However, most studies describing the characteristics of this population have been conducted in community settings only.

Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized in a clinic in southwestern Colombia

Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted using hospitalization data from patients aged 60 years and older admitted between 2021 and 2022 to the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar (Cali, Colombia). Information was obtained from the institution’s Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) database, a patient grouping methodology based on criteria of clinical similarity and healthcare resource utilization.

Results: A total of 3 130 hospital admissions were included in the analysis, corresponding to 2 527 patients. The median age was 79 years, and the median length of hospital stay was 5 days. Patients were female in 58.27% of the hospitalizations, admitted through the emergency department in 65.68%, and required medical management only in 64.15%. The median Charlson Comorbidity Index score was 2; in 77.42% of the hospitalizations, the patient had at least one comorbidity, in 69.90% the mortality risk was extreme, and in 55.7% the risk of prolonged stay was high. Readmission (defined as admission through the emergency department within 30 days of discharge from the last hospitalization for a related cause) was required in 411 hospitalizations. The most frequent diagnostic categories and DRGs were digestive system diseases (18.75%) and infectious diseases (16.67%), and COVID-19 (12.71%) and pneumonia and pneumonitis (4.31%), respectively. The mortality rate was 17.29% (n=437).

Conclusion: Individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized in an clinic in southwestern Colombia between 2021 and 2022 were characterized by a very advanced age and a slight female predominance. In most hospitalizations, patients were admitted through the emergency department and presented with at least one comorbidity and a high risk of mortality. Although the duration of hospitalization was shorter than that reported in the literature, the mortality rate was high.

Original

https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v74.119657

Brenda Juliana Gómez-González1 Andrea Marcela González-Bello2 Laura Cristina Valdez-Muñoz3 Claudia Patricia Cañadas-Aragón4 Carolina del Pilar Villalba-Toquica5 Lina Marcela Sandoval4

1 Clínica Colsanitas - Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar - Older Adult Program - Cali - Colombia.

2 Clínica Colsanitas - Diagnosis-Related Groups - Cali - Colombia.

3 Clínica Colsanitas - Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar - Emergency Department - Cali - Colombia.

4 Clínica Colsanitas - Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar - Clinical Research Department - Cali - Colombia.

5 Clínica Colsanitas - Epidemiology and Public Health Department - Bogotá D.C - Colombia.

Open access

Received: 03/04/2025

Accepted: 20/12/2025

Corresponding author: Claudia Patricia Cañadas-Aragón. Departamento de investigación Clínica, Clínica -Sebastián de Belalcázar, Clínica Colsanitas. Cali. Colombia. E-mail: investigacioncsb@colsanitas.com.

Keywords: Frailty; Elderly; Aging (MeSH).

Palabras clave: Fragilidad; Adulto Mayor; Envejecimiento (DeCS).

How to cite: Gómez-González BJ, González-Bello AM, Valdez-Muñoz LC, Cañadas-Aragón CP, Villalba-Toquica CP, Sandoval LM. Characterization of adults aged 60 years and older hospitalized in a tertiary care center in southwestern Colombia, 2021-2022. Rev. Fac. Med. 2026;74:e119657. English. doi: https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v74.119657.

Cómo citar: Gómez-González BJ, González-Bello AM, Valdez-Muñoz LC, Cañadas-Aragón CP, Villalba-Toquica CP, Sandoval LM. [Caracterización de adultos de 60 o más años hospitalizados en un centro de referencia del suroccidente colombiano. 2021-2022]. 2021-2022. Rev. Fac. Med. 2026;74:e119657. English. doi: https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v74.119657.

Copyright: ©2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Resumen

Introduction

Aging is lifelong process that,1 from a biological perspective, results from the progressive accumulation of molecular and cellular damage. Over time, this cumulative damage leads to a gradual decline in physical and mental capacity, an increased risk of disease, and, ultimately, death.2,3

Global life expectancy has increased, resulting in a higher proportion of older adults.4 Currently, most individuals have a life expectancy of 60 years or older,3 which, coupled with a notable decline in fertility rates, has led to rapid population aging worldwide.2,3 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were approximately 1 billion people aged 60 years and older in 2020, a figure expected to rise to 2.1 billion by 2050.3

Although this demographic shift, known as population aging, began in high-income countries, low- and middle-income countries—such as those in Latin America and the Caribbean—are currently experiencing the most significant changes. In fact, it is estimated that by 2050, 80% of the population aged 60 years and older will reside in these countries. Consequently, all nations face major challenges in ensuring that their healthcare and social assistance systems are prepared to address this demographic shift.3

The increase in the proportion of older adults (>65 years) has led to higher hospitalization rates, impacting the delivery of healthcare services; for instance, in the United States, the number of hospitalizations in this population increased by 16.7% between 2003 and 2009. Furthermore, due to the presence of multiple comorbidities and conditions such as frailty, the geriatric population has special needs and requires different levels of care based on individual requirements and functional status.4

As individuals age, they are more likely to experience multiple concurrent health conditions,3 which often results in higher utilization of emergency services compared to younger patients. They also face an increased risk of recurrent emergency department visits and subsequent hospital admissions, adverse drug reactions, functional decline, and institutionalization.5

Although some studies describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of older adults in Colombia and the region, they have been conducted mainly in community settings6-10 or in clinical environments other than general inpatient floors, such as chest pain units in the emergency department11 or patients with end-stage renal disease.12 Understanding the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of hospitalized older adults is fundamental for guiding decision-making in the inpatient management of these patients. It will also allow for the design of healthcare strategies aimed at optimizing hospital resources, the early identification of potential risks (e.g., prolonged stay and mortality), and the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, which will have a significant impact on their prognosis.

Considering the above, the objective of the present study was to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized in a clinic in southwestern Colombia.

Materials and methods

Study type

Retrospective, descriptive, observational study.

Study population and sample

The study population consisted of all patients aged 60 years or older hospitalized between January 2021 and December 2022 at the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar, a tertiary care institution in Cali, Colombia, which serves as a referral center for the country’s southwestern region. Records of all hospitalizations required by these patients during the study period were considered. Records with missing information for the diagnostic classification variable (diagnostic code according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision - ICD-10) were excluded.

Data collection and variables

Hospitalization data were obtained from the hospital’s Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) database, where hospitalization records are grouped into major diagnostic categories, which in turn contain the DRGs (base DRG). DRGs are a methodology for grouping patients into diagnostic categories using clinical similarity and resource utilization criteria.13 This methodology was implemented at our institution in 2021 using the Avedian LAT-GRC grouper, which utilizes ICD-10 codes and the Unified Classification of Procedures (CUPS) for coding.

Based on a review of the Minimum Basic Data Set (MBDS) used for grouping, the following patient information was collected for each hospitalization record: age, sex, length of hospital stay (in days), type of admission, diagnostic category, morbidity group (defined by the DRG) and DRG type, preoperative stay, presence of comorbidities, morbidity risk (risk of prolonged hospital stay), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), 1-year mortality risk, discharge status (alive or deceased), type of discharge, requirement for readmission and days to readmission from the last hospitalization, in-hospital complications, presence of nosocomial infections, and diagnostic approximation of frailty.

Morbidity risk is a predictive indicator of prolonged hospital stay estimated by the LAT-GRC grouper classification system based on the correlation between the reported diagnoses (primary and associated) during a hospitalization. This indicator is classified as: low risk (≤25% of cases [1st quartile] with prolonged stays [hospital admissions] within the same base DRG and severity level), intermediate risk (25-75% of cases [2nd and 3rd quartiles] with prolonged stays within the same base DRG and severity), and high risk (≥75% of cases [4th quartile] with prolonged stays within the same base DRG and severity level).

The CCI is a tool used to predict 1-year mortality risk based on the presence of 19 diseases and health conditions at the time of evaluation. The CCI assigns a weighted score to patient’s age and to each of the 19 conditions based on their impact on mortality. These scores are summed to obtain a comorbidity score, where a higher score indicates a greater risk of mortality: low risk (0 points), moderate risk (1-2 points), high risk (2-4 points), and extreme risk (>5 points).14,15

Readmission was defined as any hospital admission through the emergency department due to a diagnosis related to the reason for the previous hospitalization within 30 days following discharge. Finally, the diagnostic approximation of frailty was established based on the presence of diagnoses (ICD-10 codes) associated with frailty, a methodology that has been used in other studies.16

Statistical analysis

Data were entered into and organized in a database created in Microsoft Excel and subsequently imported into the RStudio software for analysis. Data are described using absolute frequencies and percentages for qualitative variables and medians and interquartile ranges (IQR) for quantitative variables, as they showed a non-parametric distribution (Shapiro-Wilk test). It should be noted that percentages are described along with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for the diagnostic approximation of frailty variable.

Ethical considerations

The study followed the ethical principles for biomedical research involving human subjects established in the Declaration of Helsinki17 and the scientific, technical, and administrative standards for health research set forth in Resolution 8430 of 1993 issued by the Colombian Ministry of Health.18 Furthermore, it was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Fundación Universitaria Sanitas according to the minutes with approval code number 2900-23.

Results

During the 2021-2022 period, the total number of hospitalizations was 3 165, involving 2 530 patients aged 60 or older. Thirty-five records were excluded as they lacked ICD-10 diagnostic codes; consequently, data from 3 130 hospital admissions involving a total of
2 527 patients were used for the analysis.

The median age of the patients was 79 years (IQR=74-85), and the most frequent age group was 71-80 years (48.3% of hospitalizations). Additionally, in 58.27%, 65.68%, and 64.15% of the hospital admissions, the patients were female, were admitted through the emergency department, and required only medical management, respectively. The median duration of hospitalization was 5 days. Concerning the number of hospitalizations—defined as the need for a new hospital admission or one occurring 30 days or more after the last hospitalization—2 005 patients (79.34%) were hospitalized only once during the study period, while 17.81% required two hospital admissions (Table 1).

Regarding the clinical condition of the patients, the following was found: i) patients had at least one comorbidity in 77.42% of the hospitalizations and two or more in 46.84%; ii) the median CCI score was 2 points (IQR=1-14), and the mortality risk was extreme in 69.90% (n=2 188) of the hospitalizations; iii) the patient was alive at discharge in 86.00% (n=2 692) of the hospital admissions and, in this subgroup, hospital discharge was the most common type of discharge (82.35%), followed by home hospitalization (13.15%); iv) patients required readmission in 411 (13.13%) hospitalizations, with 1-7 days being the most frequent time range elapsed between discharge and readmission (45.98%; n=189); the mortality rate was 17.29% (Table 1).

Table 1. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients aged 60 years and older hospitalized at the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar during the 2021-2022 period (n=3 130)a.

Variable		n	%
Number of hospitalizations (n=2 527)b	1	2 005	79.34
	2	450	17.81
	3	65	2.57
	4	5	0.20
	5	2	0.08
Age (years) Median (IQR)		79	(74-85)
Age groups	61-70 years	161	5.14
	71-80 years	1 512	48.31
	>81 years	1 457	46.55
Sex	Male	1 306	41.72
	Female	1 824	58.27
Length of hospital stay (days) Median (IQR)		5	3-8
Type of admission	Scheduled	595	19.00
	Referred	479	15.30
	Emergency	2 056	65.68
DRG type	Medical	2 008	64.15
	Surgical/Procedure	1 122	35.84
Preoperative stay	No	2 386	73.26
	Yes	744	23.76
Comorbidities	0	707	22.58
	1	957	30.57
	2	768	24.54
	≥3	698	22.30
Morbidity risk (prolonged stay)	High	1 743	55.7
	Intermediate	1 049	33.5
	Low	338	10.79
CCI Median (IQR)		2	1-14
Mortality risk (based on CCI)	Extreme	2 188	69.90
	High	942	30.10
Readmission	Yes	411	13.13
	No	2 719	86.86
Days to readmission after discharge (n=411)	1-7	189	45.98
	8-15	103	25.96
	16-30	119	28.95
Condition at discharge (n=2 527)	Alive	2 090	82.70
	Deceased	437	17.29
Type of discharge (n=2 693)	Hospital discharge	2 218	82.39
	Home hospitalization	354	13.15
	Transfer to another institution	92	3.4
	Voluntary discharge	29	1.07
Complications during hospitalization	Yes	3 005	96.00
	No	125	3.95
Nosocomial infections	Yes	100	3.19
	No	3 030	96.80

IQR: interquartile range; DRG: diagnosis-related groups; CCI: Charlson Comorbidity Index.
a Data are presented for the 3 130 hospitalizations, regardless of the number of hospitalizations per patient during the study period.

b Only new hospitalizations or those occurring at least 30 days after the last discharge are considered for the

2 527 patients.

Source: Own elaboration.

Regarding morbidity groups, coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was the most frequent DRG (12.71%; n=398), followed by pneumonia and pneumonitis (4.31%; n=131). The 10 most common DRGs across the 3 130 hospitalizations are presented in Table 2. In terms of diagnostic categories, digestive system diseases (18.75%; n=587), infectious diseases (16.67%; n=522), and urinary and genital tract diseases (13.91%; n=437) were the most frequent. The distribution of diagnostic categories in the 3 130 hospital admissions is described in Table 3.

Table 2. Leading morbidity groups by diagnosis-related groups in hospital admissions of patients aged 60 years and older at the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar, 2021-2022 (n=3 130).

Diagnosis-Related Groups	n	%
Coronavirus infection (COVID-19)	398	12.71
Pneumonia and pneumonitis	135	4.31
Infectious disease of the kidney and urinary tract	116	3.70
Heart failure	90	2.87
Septicemia and sepsis	89	2.84
Major gastrointestinal tract procedures	88	2.81
Other hip and femur procedures, except arthroplasty	84	2.66
Other procedures on the musculoskeletal system, joints, and connective tissue	81	2.58
Other digestive system procedures	80	2.55
Minor gastrointestinal tract procedures	67	2.14

Source: Own elaboration.

Table 3. Distribution of diagnostic categories in hospital admissions of patients aged 60 years and older at the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar, 2021-2022 (n=3 130).

Major diagnostic categories	n	%
Digestive system diseases and disorders	587	18.75
Infectious and parasitic diseases	522	16.67
Kidney and urinary tract diseases and disorders	437	13.91
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases and disorders	435	13.89
Nervous system diseases and disorders	340	10.86
Respiratory system diseases and disorders	322	10.28
Circulatory system diseases and disorders	207	6.61
Diseases and disorders of the blood, hematopoietic organs, and immune system	61	1.94
Skin, subcutaneous tissue, and breast diseases and disorders	52	1.66
Ear, nose, mouth, and throat diseases and disorders	39	1.24
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases and disorders	39	1.24
Cancer-related conditions and procedures	34	1.08
Mental diseases and disorders	20	0.63
Injuries, poisonings, and toxic effects of drugs	13	0.41
Factors influencing health status and other contacts with health services	10	0.31
Breast diseases and disorders	8	0.25
Eye diseases and disorders	4	0.12

Source: Own elaboration.

ICD-10 diagnostic codes related to frailty were recorded in 229 hospital admissions (7.21%; 95% CI: 6.44-8.29). In this subgroup, readmission and mortality rates were 11.79% (n=27) and 11.35% (n=26), respectively.

Discussion

This study aimed to describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of 2 527 patients aged 60 years and older hospitalized between 2021 and 2022 at a tertiary care hospital in southwestern Colombia. The analysis was based on data from 3 130 hospital admissions recorded in the hospital’s DRG database. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Colombia to report such information for this population in this clinical setting.

The median age was 79 years, and the most frequent age range was 75–81 years. These findings align with those reported by Street et al.19 in a study of 32 282 emergency department visits across three Australian hospitals involving 21 073 patients aged 65 years and older. In that study, approximately 67.6% of patients required hospital admission, and the majority (37.8%) were between 75 and 84 years old.

Regarding sex distribution, a slight predominance of women was observed (58.27%), which is consistent with the findings reported in similar studies (54%–57.8%).16,19,20,21

The median length of hospital stay was 5 days, significantly shorter than the average stay reported by Vetrano et al.20 in 1 123 patients aged 65 years and older admitted to the intensive care units (ICU) of seven Italian hospitals (11.2±6.7 days). However, this result is similar to those reported by Deng et al. 21 in 1 267 patients aged 65 years and older at a hospital in San Francisco (United States) and by Zisberg et al.22 in 331 patients at a university hospital in northern Israel (5.7±6.4 days and 5.8±3.3 days, respectively).

In terms of the type of admission, 65.68% of hospitalizations occurred through the emergency department, a higher proportion than that reported by Vetrano et al.20 (50.93%) in Italy. Notably, medical management alone was required in 64.15% of the hospitalizations, although no studies were found that reported information on this variable for comparison.

With respect to comorbidities, 30.57% of hospitalizations involved patients with one condition, while 46.84% involved patients with two or more. The proportion of multimorbidity (defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions) in this study is considerably lower than that observed by Vetrano et al.,20 in Italy, in which data on polypharmacy suggest that 92.61% of patients had at least two comorbidities; however, it should be noted that Vetrano et al.20 only included patients aged 65 years and older admitted to the ICU, whereas this study considered all types of hospitalizations. Furthermore, a recent systematic review reported that the prevalence of multimorbidity among older adults in hospital settings ranged from 20.0% to 93.1% across 16 studies.23

The median CCI score was 2 (IQR=1–14), suggesting a lower morbidity burden than that reported in similar studies where average scores ranged between 2.8 and 3.1.16,20,21 Notably, the risk of mortality was classified as extreme in 69.90% (n=2 188) of the hospitalizations.

The mortality rate in this study (17.29%; n=437) is considerably higher than that reported in international studies of older adults admitted to inpatient services, which ranges from 2.27% to 13.9%.16,19,20 Although this discrepancy may be explained by the large sample sizes in some studies (n=21 07319 and n=1 013 59016) and factors related to the healthcare system capacity in the high-income countries where they were conducted (England,16 Australia,19 and Italy20), this high mortality rate warrants detailed review within our institution.

As for the most frequent DRGs, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led with 12.71%, followed by pneumonia and pneumonitis at 4.31%. These results highlight the need to strengthen immunological prevention strategies in outpatient settings in southwestern Colombia through collaborative efforts with health insurance companies to ensure vaccination against influenza, pneumococcus, and COVID-19 upon discharge.

In the present study, a diagnostic approach to frailty was taken based on the presence of ICD-10 codes previously linked to this condition in the literature,16 revealing that 7.21% (n=229) of hospital admissions included frailty-related diagnostic codes.16 In this regard, the figure reported herein is lower than the one reported by López-Cuenca et al.24 in 132 patients aged 65 years and older admitted to the ICUs of four Spanish hospitals, where 35% met frailty criteria. Similarly, it differs from the findings of Gilbert et al.,16 who developed and validated a hospital frailty risk score based on ICD-10 codes for patients aged 75 years and older admitted to various National Health Service hospitals in England; in their development cohort (n=22 139), 4 073 patients (18.39%) had at least one frailty-related code. Such discrepancies may be explained by differences in study design as well as sample size and characteristics, given that the study by Gibert et al.16 only included patients aged 75 and older (82.5±5.6 years), while López-Cuenca et al.,24 focused exclusively on ICU patients.

Although this is only a diagnostic approximation, these data are significant considering that studies such as that of Diaz De León González et al.,25 conducted in Mexico with data from 4 774 individuals aged 60 years and older from the National Health and Aging Study, report that frailty is independently associated with mortality, number of hospitalizations, and functional dependence in at least one basic activity of daily living. Moreover, as the first study to estimate frailty among the hospitalized older adult population in Colombia—even as a diagnostic approach based on ICD-10 codes—this finding could be instrumental for clinical decision-making and the management of hospitalized older patients throughout the country.

This research has several strengths. It stands as the first study to provide data on the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of hospitalized older adults in Colombia. Furthermore, the use of a robust database (DRG) from a tertiary care hospital and referral center in southwestern Colombia ensured an adequate level of representativity and a sample size sufficient for these findings to serve as a national benchmark.

However, several limitations must also be considered when interpreting the results. The descriptive nature of the study inherently limits its scope; therefore, future research should evaluate the potential impact of various variables on clinical outcomes in this population. Furthermore, the data source poses a risk of information bias due to potential inaccuracies or inconsistencies in data recording, collection, and interpretation since the possibility of bias remains despite the existence of a standardized protocol for the DRG database at the clinic that reduces this risk. Additionally, as the analysis relied exclusively on DRG data, it did not include variables such as functional autonomy, nutritional status, or socioeconomic and social support conditions, all of which can be critical determinants of mortality, readmission, and length of stay.

Another limitation is that the diagnostic approach to frailty was based on the presence of frailty-related ICD-10 codes, as the systematic recording of specific codes for frailty (R54) or sarcopenia (M62.84) is not routine in the hospital setting. Consequently, future studies should employ validated tools to deepen the evaluation of frailty and analyze its impact on clinical outcomes. A final consideration is that including patients aged 60 and older may limit the comparison of our findings with existing literature, as most studies focus on patients aged 65 and older. However, this age threshold aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of aging; moreover, the results show that the proportion of consultations for patients aged 60–64 was very low.

Conclusions

Individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized at a referral clinic in southwestern Colombia between January 2021 and December 2022 were characterized by advanced age and a slight female predominance. In most hospitalizations, patients were admitted through the emergency department, and the risk of mortality was predominantly classified as extreme.

Although the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter than the one reported in the literature, the mortality rate was higher. Finally, coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and pneumonia and pneumonitis were the most frequent DRGs, highlighting the need to strengthen immunization strategies against respiratory infections in this population.

Conflicts of interest

None stated by the authors.

Funding

None stated by the authors.

Acknowledgments

None stated by the authors.

References

1. Flint B, Tadi P. Physiology, Aging. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/mr3ep4x3. PMID: 32310566.
2. World Health Organization (WHO). World report on ageing and health [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2015 [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/55vvh8vv.
3. World Health Organization (WHO). Ageing and health [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2025 [cited 2026 Feb 19]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/msybbt3f.
4. Ghimire K, Dahal R. Geriatric Care Special Needs Assessment.. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/4m7e3jju.
5. Buurman BM, Van Den Berg W, Korevaar JC, Milisen K, De Haan RJ, De Rooij SE. Risk for poor outcomes in older patients discharged from an emergency department: Feasibility of four screening instruments. Eur J Emerg Med. 2011;18(4):215-20. doi: 10.1097/MEJ.0b013e328344597e. PMID: 21317787.
6. Pilger C, Menon MH, de Freitas Mathias TA. Socio-demographic and health characteristics of elderly individuals: support for health services. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2011;19(5):1230-8. English, Portuguese, Spanish. doi: 10.1590/s0104-11692011000500022. PMID: 22030589.
7. Romero-Vigara JC, Llisterri-Caro JL, Turégano-Yedro M, Cinza-Sanjurjo S, Muñoz-González L, Silvero YA, et al. Características clínicas y sociosanitarias en mayores de 65 años asistidos en atención primaria. Estudio PYCAF [Clinical and socio-sanitary characteristics in adults older than 65 years attended in the Primary Care setting. The PYCAF study]. Semergen. 2018;45(6):366-74. doi: 10.1016/J.SEMERG.2018.10.004. PMID: 30541706.
8. Colombia. Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (Minsalus), Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia Tecnología e innovación (Colciencias). SABE Colombia 2015. Estudio Nacional de Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento [Internet]. Bogotá D.C.: Minsalud; 2015 [cited 2025 Feb 13]. Available from:
   https://tinyurl.com/4ft6a9uv.
9. Moquillaza-Risco M, León E, Dongo M, Munayco CV. Características sociodemográficas y de salud de los adultos mayores en situación de calle en Lima, Perú. Rev. perú. med. exp. salud publica. 2015;32(4):693-700.
10. García-Chanes RE, Rojas-Huerta AV, Tolentino-Arellano H. Características y condiciones de salud en las personas mayores que laboran en México. Un análisis comparativo entre cohortes y sexo. Gac. Méd. Méx. 2024;160(3):337-44. doi: 10.24875/gmm.24000160.
11. Grande-Ratti MF, Bluro IM, Castillo F, Zapiola ME, Pedretti AS, Martínez B. Características clínicas y tiempos de atención en una unidad de dolor torácico del servicio de emergencias de un centro argentino [Clinical characteristics and care times in a chest pain unit of the emergency department of an argentine center]. Arch Peru Cardiol Cir Cardiovasc. 2023;4(2):41-7. Spanish. doi: 10.47487/apcyccv.v4i2.293.
    PMID: 37780952; PMCID: PMC10538921.
12. Gonçalves JG, Lugon JR, Nascimento MMD, Sesso RC. Demographics and clinical features of elderly patients undergoing regular dialysis in Brazil. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2021;54(4):e9806. doi: 10.1590/1414-431X20209806. PMID: 33624734; PMCID: PMC7894391.
13. Vallés-Noguero J, García-Arilla Calvo E, Manrique-Permanyer JM. Clasificación de pacientes mediante grupos relacionados con diagnósticos (GRD) en un servicio de Geriatría. Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol. 2000;35(5):269-76.
14. Charlson ME, Carrozzino D, Guidi J, Patierno C. Charlson Comorbidity Index: A Critical Review of Clinimetric Properties. Psychother Psychosom. 2022;91(1):8-35. doi: 10.1159/000521288. PMID: 34991091.
15. Charlson ME, Pompei P, Ales KL, MacKenzie CR. A new method of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: Development and validation. J Chronic Dis. 1987;40(5):373-83. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(87)90171-8. PMID: 3558716.
16. Gilbert T, Neuburger J, Kraindler J, Keeble E, Smith P, Ariti C, et al. Development and validation of a Hospital Frailty Risk Score focusing on older people in acute care settings using electronic hospital records: an observational study. Lancet. 2018;391(10132):1775-82. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30668-8. PMID: 29706364; PMCID: PMC5946808.
17. World Medical Association. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Participants. JAMA. 2025;333(1):71-4. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.21972. PMID: 39425955.
18. Colombia. Ministerio de Salud. Resolución 8430 de 1993 (octubre 4): Por la cual se establecen las normas científicas, técnicas y administrativas para la investigación en salud [Internet]. Bogotá D.C.; october 4 1993 [cited 2026 Jan 22]. Available from: https://bit.ly/3Q3R0t8.
19. Street M, Berry D, Considine J. Frequent use of emergency departments by older people: a comparative cohort study of characteristics and outcomes. Int J Qual Health Care. 2018;30(8):624-9. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzy062. PMID: 29659863.
20. Vetrano DL, Landi F, De Buyser SL, Carfì A, Zuccalà G, Petrovic M, et al. Predictors of length of hospital stay among older adults admitted to acute care wards: a multicentre observational study.
    Eur J Intern Med. 2014;25(1):56-62. doi: 10.1016/J.EJIM.2013.08.709. PMID: 24054859.
21. Deng LX, Patel K, Miaskowski C, Maravilla I, Schear S, Garrigues S, et al. Prevalence and Characteristics of Moderate to Severe Pain among Hospitalized Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018;66(9):1744-51.
    doi: 10.1111/jgs.15459. PMID: 30095854; PMCID: PMC6312405.
22. Zisberg A, Shulyaev K, Gur-Yaish N, Agmon M, Pud D. Symptom clusters in hospitalized older adults: Characteristics and outcomes. Geriatr Nurs. 2021;42(1):240-6. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2020.08.007. PMID: 32891441.
23. Nicholson K, Liu W, Fitzpatrick D, Hardacre KA, Roberts S, Salerno J, et al. Prevalence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy among adults and older adults: a systematic review. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2024;5(4):e287-96. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(24)00007-2. PMID: 38452787.
24. López-Cuenca S, Oteiza-López L, Lázaro-Martín N, Irazabal-Jaimes MM, Ibarz-Villamayor M, Artigas A, et al. Frailty in patients over 65 years of age admitted to Intensive Care Units (FRAIL-ICU). Med Intensiva (Engl Edi). 2019;43(7):395-401. English, Spanish. doi: 10.1016/j.medin.2019.01.010. PMID: 30905473.
25. Diaz De León González E, Tamez-Pérez HE, Gutiérrez-Hermosillo H, Cedillo-Rodríguez JA, Torres G. Fragilidad y su asociación con mortalidad, hospitalizaciones y dependencia funcional en mexicanos de 60 años o más. [Frailty and its association with mortality, hospitalization and functional dependence in Mexicans aged 60-years or older]. Med Clin (Barc). 2012;138(11):468-74. doi: 10.1016/J.MEDCLI.2011.03.024. PMID: 21612803; PMCID: PMC5087992.