ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02331459.

OBJECTIVES:Hip fractures are associated with high levels of co-morbidity and mortality. Orthogeriatric units have been shown to be effective with respect to functional recovery and mortality reduction. The aim of this study is to document the natural history of early multidisciplinary intervention in elderly patients with hip fractures and to establish the prognostic factors of mortality and walking ability after discharge.METHODS:This observational, retrospective study was performed in an orthogeriatric care unit on patients aged ≥70 years with a diagnosis of hip fracture between 2004 and 2008. This study included 1363 patients with a mean age of 82.7±6.4 years.RESULTS:On admission to the unit, the average Barthel score of these patients was 77.2±27.8 points, and the average Charlson index score was 2.14±2.05. The mean length of stay was 8.9±4.26 days, and the readmission rate was 2.3%. The in-hospital mortality rate was 4.7%, and the mortality rates at one, six, and 12 months after discharge were 8.7%, 16.9%, and 25.9%, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards model estimated that male sex, Barthel scale, heart failure, and cognitive impairment were associated with an increased risk of death. With regard to functionality, 63.7% of the patients were able to walk at the time of discharge, whereas 77.4% and 80.1% were able to walk at one month and six months post-discharge, respectively. The factors associated with a worse functional recovery included cognitive impairment, performance status, age, stroke, Charlson score, and delirium during the hospital stay.CONCLUSIONS:Early multidisciplinary intervention appears to be effective for the management of hip fracture. Age, male sex, baseline function, cognitive impairment and previous comorbidities are associated with a higher mortality rate and worse functional recovery.

The beneficial effects of exercise have been well recognized for over half a century. Dr Jeremy Morris's pioneering studies in the fifties showed a striking difference in cardiovascular disease between the drivers and conductors on the double‐decker buses in London. These studies sparked off a vast amount of research on the effects of exercise in health, and the general consensus is that exercise contributes to improved outcomes and treatment for several diseases including osteoporosis, diabetes, depression and atherosclerosis. Evidence of the beneficial effects of exercise is reviewed here. One way of highlighting the impact of exercise on disease is to consider it from the perspective of good practice. However, the intensity, duration, frequency (dosage) and counter indications of the exercise should be taken into consideration to individually tailor the exercise programme. An important case of the beneficial effect of exercise is that of ageing. Ageing is characterized by a loss of homeostatic mechanisms, on many occasions leading to the development of frailty, and hence frailty is one of the major geriatric syndromes and exercise is very useful to mitigate, or at least delay, it. Since exercise is so effective in reducing frailty, we would like to propose that exercise be considered as a supplement to other treatments. People all over the world have been taking nutritional supplements in the hopes of improving their health. We would like to think of exercise as a physiological supplement not only for treating diseases, but also for improving healthy ageing.

We observed higher 12-month mortality and less functional recovery with increasing severity of dementia.