Fluctuating Physical Function and Health: Their Role at the End of Life

Our recent research suggests that a fluctuating trajectory, previously thought to be the experience of those dying with heart failure or chronic lung disease, may not accurately characterize the end of life for these patients.

We sought to further examine health and function to investigate whether other measures or a different time frame captures the purported exacerbation/recovery trajectory associated with these diseases.

Function and health data were collected prospectively at six-month intervals for 17 years during the Heath, Aging and Body Composition Study.

We analyzed self-reported mobility, health status, and health care utilization for 1410 decedents, defining high fluctuations as transitions in two or more adjacent assessment pairs during the last three years of life.

Among decedents, only 207 (14.7%) reported two or more changes in mobility during the last three years of life; and 586 (41.6%) reported more than two transitions in self-reported health during the period. This fluctuation was not associated with any clinical condition in the three years before death, but decedents with chronic heart failure or chronic lung disease reported significantly more changes in mobility (odds ratio = 1.15, p = 0.025) for a longer follow-up period. Decedents with heart failure were also more likely to report hospital stays in the last three years of life.

Fluctuations in mobility and self-reported health do not differ by clinical condition in the three years before death, but people dying with chronic heart failure or chronic lung disease are more frequently hospitalized during this period and experience more unstable mobility for a longer period of observation.