Conclusion Geriatric syndromes are important prognostic factors for postoperative complications .
Background Elective surgeries can be associated with significant harm to older adults .
The present study aim ed to identify the prognostic factors associated with the development of postoperative complications among older adults undergoing elective surgery .
Evaluating the Association of Preoperative Functional Status and Postoperative Functional Decline in Older Patients Undergoing Major Surgery
This prospect i ve cohort study sought to identify predictors of functional decline in patients aged 65 years or older who underwent major , nonemergent abdominal or thoracic surgery in our tertiary hospital from 2006 to 2008 . We used the  Stanford Health Assessment Question naire – Disability Index ( HAQ-DI ) to evaluate functional decline ; a 0.1 or greater increase was used to indicate a clinical ly significant decline . The preoperative Duke Activity Status Index ( DASI ) and a physical function score ( PFS ) , assessing gait speed , grip strength , balance , and st and ing speed , were evaluated as predictors of decline . We enrolled 215 patients ( 71.2 ± 5.2 years ; 56.7 % female ) ; 204 completed follow-up HAQ assessment s ( 71.1 ± 5.3 years ; 57.8 % female ) . A significant number of patients had functional decline out to 1 year . Postoperative HAQ-DI increases of 0.1 or greater occurred in 45.3 per cent at 1 month , 30.1 per cent at 3 months , and 28.3 per cent at 1 year . Pre-operative DASI and PFS scores were not predictors of functional decline . Male sex at 1 month ( odds ratio [ OR ] , 3.05 ; 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , 1.41 to 6.85 ) ; American Society of Anesthesiologists class ( OR , 3.41 ; 95 % CI , 1.31 to 8.86 ) , smoking ( OR , 3.15 ; 95 % CI , 1.27 to 7.85 ) , and length of stay ( OR , 1.09 ; 95 % CI , 1.01 to 1.16 ) at 3 months ; and cancer diagnosis at 1 year ( OR , 2.6 ; 95 % CI , 1.14 to 5.96 ) were associated with functional decline
Conclusion Geriatric syndromes are important prognostic factors for postoperative complications .
Background Elective surgeries can be associated with significant harm to older adults .
The present study aim ed to identify the prognostic factors associated with the development of postoperative complications among older adults undergoing elective surgery .