P279 Prevalance of frailty in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background/Aims Frailty is characterised by increased fatigue and vulnerability, which leads to adverse health outcomes. Although common in older adults, recent studies have reported the increased prevalence of frailty in various rheumatological diseases regardless of age. However, there are very few studies of the prevalence of frailty in people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Thus, this study aims to address this gap in the literature by investigating frailty prevalence in a group of AS patients and assessing the disease-specific outcome measures. Methods 50 AS patients aged between 40 and 65 were included in this monocentric cross-sectional study. The study protocol was approved by the university ethics committee and all participants provided written informed consent. Patients were grouped as pre-frail, frail and robust according to the Kihon Checklist; <4 was accepted as robust, ≥4 pre-frail, and 8≥frail. Grip strength, walking speed, pain during activity and rest were determined. Nutritional status, disease activity, functional level and quality of life were assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (ASQoL) respectively. One-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the patients in groups with post-hoc comparisons. Results 26% of patients were robust, 32% were pre-frail and 42% were frail. Compared to robust individuals, the pre-frail and frail individuals had significantly higher BASFI, BASDAI, ASQoL scores and a higher level of pain severity during rest. Pain during activity and walking speed were not significant between frail and pre-frail individuals. Conclusion Our preliminary findings indicate that frailty or pre-frailty is common in working-age AS patients. Being frail resulted in higher disease activity and pain severity, and especially worse self-reported outcome measure scores. Since frailty is a reversible condition, identifying the pre-frailty and frailty status of AS patients may help to prevent further decline in functional level and to design appropriate treatment interventions. Disclosure Ö. Öztürk: None. Ö. Feyzioğu: None.