Introduction:

chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) are responsible for 41 million deaths worldwide, highlighting diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, obesity and chronic kidney disease. It has been seen that these have a significant impact on the mortality of older adult patients.

Objective:

to describe the risk factors for mortality in elderly patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to acute critical illness.

Material and methods:

retrospective and descriptive observational cohort study, conducted in a polyvalent ICU in a private hospital in Mexico City.

Results:

patients older than 60 years reached the median mortality on day 24.1 of ventilation, unlike those younger than 59.9 years; being its main risk factor was admission with severity predictor scales with high scores. Patients with chronic non-communicable diseases also increased their risk of dying.

Conclusions:

patients older than 60 years, especially those with a diagnosis of hypertension, present a higher risk for mortality in the ICU.