Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026
Cutoff Value of Phase Angle by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis at Admission as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Acute Heart Failure
Published on: June 10, 2025
How does prior health status (age, comorbidities and frailty) determine critical illness and outcome?
1aDepartment of Surgery and Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care, University of Toronto bDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre cDepartment of Anesthesia and Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Purpose Of Review:
Critical illness has a significant impact on an individual's physical and mental health. However, it is less clear to what degree outcomes after critical illness are due to patients' preexisting characteristics, rather than the critical illness itself. In this review, we summarize recent findings regarding the role of age, comorbidity and frailty on long-term outcomes after critical illness.
Recent Findings:
Age, comorbidity and frailty are all associated with an increased risk of critical illness. Although severity of illness drives the risk of acute mortality, recent data suggest that longer term outcomes are much more closely aligned with prior health status. There are growing data regarding the important role of noncardiovascular comorbidity, including psychiatric illness and obesity, in determining long-term outcomes. Finally, preadmission frailty is associated with poor long-term outcomes after critical illness; further data are needed to evaluate the attributable impact of critical illness on the health trajectories of frail individuals.
Summary:
Age, comorbidity and frailty play a critical role in determining the long-term outcomes of patients requiring intensive care.
Related Concept Videos
01:18Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
01:17Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe...
01:21Dimensions of Health and Illness
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:26Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin...