Abstract
Little is known about the impact of trauma on geriatric injury survivors' life expectancy. Does trauma in older adults influence time to death? What key patient and injury variables can predict 5-year postdischarge survival? This retrospective study used Cox proportional hazards models to quantify seniors' risk for death within 5 years of injury and identify variables associated with life expectancy. The hazard ratio for death in subjects versus matched controls was 6.26. Six patient and injury variables were identified that predicted 5-year vital status in the final multivariate model. There is an ongoing relationship between injury and shortened lifespan in geriatric trauma survivors. This relationship appears to be largely influenced by host factors, rather than by injury variables.