Background: Hospitalization among older people is common and associated with adverse outcomes. However, knowledge about long-term effects on motor functions and cognitive abilities in relation to hospitalization is scarce. In order to explore development of motor functions and cognition after hospitalization, a longitudinal study among middle-aged and older adults with up to 25 years of follow-up was conducted.

Methods: Overall, 828 participants from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Ageing (SATSA) were linked to the Swedish National Inpatient Register, which contains information on participants’ hospital admissions. Up to 8 assessments of cognitive performance and 7 assessments of motor functions i.e. fine motor, balance/upper strength, and flexibility, from 1986 to 2010 were available. Latent growth curve modelling was used to assess the association between hospitalization and subsequent motor function and cognitive performance.

Results: A total of 735 (89 %) persons had at least one hospital admission during the follow-up. The mean age at first hospitalization was 70.2 (± 9.3) years. Persons who were hospitalized exhibited a lower mean level of cognitive performance in all domains and in motor functions compared with those who were not hospitalized. A significantly steeper decline was observed in motor function abilities as well as in processing speed, spatial/fluid, and general cognitive ability performance of hospitalized participants. These patterns remained even after comorbidities and dementia prevalence were controlled for.

Discussion: We are the first to show that hospitalization is associated with steeper decline in both motor function and cognitive abilities across more than two decades of post-hospitalization follow-up.