Sex-based differences in body composition and functional independence affecting discharge destination in patients undergoing convalescent rehabilitation.
Minami Sato, Masahiro Ishizaka, Yoshiaki Endo and 3 others
PMID 40599837WHAT IT FOUND
For men, motor independence at discharge predicted going home.
For women, a longer hospital stay predicted not going home. Body composition differed by sex but did not predict discharge destination in the final model.
Key findings
01Motor independence at discharge was a significant predictor of home discharge for male patients.
02Length of stay was a significant predictor of home discharge for female patients.
03Women who did not go home had significantly higher extracellular water/total body water ratios and longer stays than those who did.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This was a single-center study in Japan, so findings may not apply to other healthcare systems or populations. The sample size for the non-home discharge groups was small (9 men, 14 women), reducing the reliability of the statistical models. The study did not measure social factors like family support or housing availability, which are known to heavily influence discharge destination. It was observational, so it cannot prove that changing these factors will alter discharge outcomes.
Declared interests
Funded by JSPS KAKENHI. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improving body composition metrics like muscle mass or phase angle will directly increase a patient's chance of going home. While these differed between groups, they were not significant predictors in the final analysis, whereas functional independence (for men) and length of stay (for women) were.