Illness, injury trigger faster aging

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have linked illnesses and injuries restricting the activity of older adults or landing them in the hospital to worsening functional ability.

The study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found frequent transitions between states of disability and recovery with diminishing functional ability usually begin with hospitalization in 90.7 percent of study cases and/or one month of restricted activity in 94.3 percent.

The researchers found fall-related injury led to the highest likelihood of developing new or worsening disability.

"We now have a much better understanding of the complex and highly dynamic disabling process," Dr. Thomas Gill of the Yale School of Medicine said in a statement. "More aggressive efforts will be needed to prevent and manage intervening illnesses and injuries, given their apparent role in precipitating and perpetuating the disabling process."

Gill and colleagues conducted a 10-year study involving 754 adults age 70 and older, who were interviewed monthly -- paying particular attention to hospitalizations and restricted activity, especially in those with slow walking speed, a sign of physical frailty.