Presence Of Frailty Research Articles

The association between preoperative modified frailty index and postoperative complications in Chinese elderly patients with hip fractures

ObjectivesTo investigate the role of a preoperative modified frailty index (mFI) based on data from medical records in predicting postoperative complications among older Chinese patients with hip fractures.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included consecutive older patients with hip fracture admitted to the Department of Orthopaedics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, from December 2010 to June 2017 who underwent surgical repair. We selected 33 variables, including characteristics of hip fracture, to construct a mFI. Each variable was coded with a value of 0 when a deficit was absent or 1 when it was present. We calculated the mFI as the proportion of positive items and defined frailty as mFI value greater than or equal to 0.21 according to threshold proposed by Hoover et al. We examined the relationship between mFI and severity of postoperative complications and the occurrence of in-hospital pneumonia including statistical adjustment for several demographics (e.g. age, gender, and marital status) and habits (smoking and alcohol intake), time from fracture to surgery in the multivariable model.ResultsWe included 965 patients (34% male; mean age: 76.77 years; range: 60 to 100 years) with a prevalence of frailty of 13.06%. The presence of frailty was associated with a higher severity of complications (OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.40 to 3.05). Frail patients were more likely to develop in-hospital pneumonia than non-frail patients (OR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.28 to 3.39).ConclusionThe preoperative modified frailty index based on data from medical records proved significantly associated with postoperative complications among older patients with hip fractures undergoing hip surgery.

Pulmonary Function as a Predictor of Frailty Syndrome in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Diminished pulmonary function is associated with negative health outcomes and pulmonary impairment, and can be associated with frailty. The objectives of this study were to compare pulmonary function between frail, prefrail, and nonfrail older adults; to verify the association between pulmonary function and frailty syndrome; and to establish cut-off points for pulmonary function variables for predicting frailty. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 379 community-dwelling older adults of both sexes. Spirometry was used to measure pulmonary function criteria (forced vital capacity, FVC; forced expiratory volume in 1 second, FEV 1 ; and FEV 1 /FVC ratio). The presence of frailty was evaluated with Fried's frailty phenotype. Statistical analysis included a multinomial logistic regression model. Pulmonary function cut-off points for discriminating frailty syndrome were established through analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curves. The study participants were a median of 69.0 (64.0-74.0) years old, and 12.4% presented frailty while 58% presented prefrailty. Frail and prefrail older adults presented significantly lower median FVC and FEV 1 values-FVC = 1.89 L (1.45-2.31) and FEV 1 = 1.60 L (1.24-1.91); FVC = 2.07 L (1.62-2.67) and FEV 1 = 1.66 L (1.32-2.09), respectively-than nonfrail participants-FVC = 2.53 L (1.96-3.16) and FEV 1 = 2.01 L (1.54-2.43). The adjusted analysis indicated that FEV 1 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.99) and the FVC (OR = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48-0.96) were inversely associated with prefrailty and that FVC (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29-0.94) was associated with frailty. Cut-off points for prefrailty (FVC ≤2.3 L and FEV 1 ≤1.86 L) and frailty (FVC ≤2.07 L and FEV 1 ≤1.76 L) were established. Pulmonary function was lower in frail and prefrail older adults than in their nonfrail peers. Frailty and prefrailty were inversely associated with pulmonary function. Cut-off points for FEV 1 and FVC for discriminating frailty were established and may allow pulmonary function to serve as an indicator of frailty in older adults.

Frailty and Kidney Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background.Frailty is a multidimensional condition and is the result of the body’s age-associated decline in physical, cognitive, physiological, and immune reserves. The aim of this systematic review is to assess the quality of evidence of the included studies, determine the prevalence of frailty among kidney transplant candidates, and evaluate the relationship between frailty and associated patient characteristics and outcomes after kidney transplantation.Methods.A systematic search was performed for relevant literature on frailty and kidney transplantation. This was followed by a meta-analysis for patient characteristics and outcomes reported by a minimum of 2 studies including mean age, gender, mean body mass index, type of kidney transplantation, dialysis, previous kidney transplantation, comorbidities, hypertension, race, preemptive kidney transplantation, delayed graft function, and length of stay.Results.A total of 18 studies were included in the systematic review and 14 of those studies were suitable for meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of frailty before transplantation was estimated at 17.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.4-18.7). Frailty was significantly associated with higher age (mean difference, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.4-5.9), lower rate of preemptive transplantation (relative risk, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9), longer duration of delayed graft function (relative risk, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.1-3.0), and length of stay longer than 2 wk (odds ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.2-2.3).Conclusions.One in 6 kidney transplant recipients is frail before transplantation. The presence of frailty is associated with lower rates of preemptive transplantation, older recipient age, higher rates of delayed graft function, and longer length of stay. Future research is required to explore the association of frailty with other adverse outcomes after kidney transplantation and the effects of intervention programs to improve the different frailty domains.

Validation of frailty assessment batteries in relation to prognosis in older patients with cardiovascular disease

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Frailty is accompanied by, or can be caused by, a combination of several physical, psychosocial and cognitive problems, and is highly prevalent in older patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, different frailty assessment batteries (e.g. Fried and Vigorito) remain to be compared in terms of prognosis, as well as the subcomponents within those batteries. Purpose To examine which frailty measurements contribute to the prediction of frailty in CVD patients, and prognosis, and thus should be executed in clinical settings. Methods In 133 CVD patients (mean age 78.1 ± 6.7 years) the presence of frailty was examined by the Fried criteria and compared with the outcome from the multi-component frailty assessment tool of Vigorito including the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Katz-scale, 4.6 m gait speed, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), handgrip strength, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and number of medications. Additional tests were executed to further enhance the prediction of frailty. Patients were followed to register hospitalisations (general and urgent) and mortality up to 6 months after the frailty assessment. First, it was then analysed whether the Fried or Vigorito test battery would equally predict complications during follow-up, and secondly a new frailty test battery was developed with evaluation towards complication risk predictions. Results According to the tool of Vigorito, significantly more CVD patients suffered from minor vs. moderate frailty (34% vs. 10%, p < 0.001) while the Phenotype of Fried did not succeed in detecting any significant difference in the number of pre-frail vs. frail patients (26% vs. 38%, p = 0.11). Moreover, the largest part of the pre-frail patients of Fried seems to be not frail according to Vigorito and the frail patients of Fried seems to be mainly minor frail according to Vigorito. Significant associations were found between hospitalisations and frailty according to Fried while mortality was significantly associated with frailty according to Vigorito and the newly developed formula (p = 0.013). Finally, based on the multivariate regression model (R2 = 0.95), sex, MNA, Katz scale, TUG, handgrip strength (dominant hand), MMSE, GDS-15, total number of medications and the interaction effect between the Katz-scale and TUG should be assessed to detect frailty. Based on these parameters, a new formula to detect frailty was developed (r = 0.95 with Vigorito score, p < 0.001). Conclusions In comparison with the frailty assessment tool of Vigorito, the Fried criteria may overestimate frailty and its severity. Moreover, frailty seems to be significantly associated with 6-months hospitalisations as well as with mortality. The newly developed frailty assessment battery has the potential to detect frailty in a multidimensional way, and, moreover, to predict mortality.

Diabetes through transitions in life; from fit to frail

The accelerated ageing that occurs in diabetes results in earlier appearance of the geriatric phenotype, including frailty. Recent guidelines have stressed the need for assessing frailty in the evaluation of older adults living with diabetes. Once evaluated and identified, however, the presence of frailty marks a significant change for the individual. Treatments that have been continued and encouraged often for many years, may be discontinued. Life-prolonging medications such GLP-1 analogues, and SGLT-2 inhibitors are replaced with therapies designed to improve quality of life, reduce glycaemic variability and stabilise the sarcopaenia that characterises frailty, such as insulin. With this, however, comes new problems, such as the risk of hypoglycaemia, the need to for capillary glucose monitoring and sub cutaneous administration. Additionally, new diagnoses that are more common in people in diabetes, such as stroke, heart disease, dementia, falls and fractures will result in further changes, with the need for care and possibly even institutionalisation.

In-Depth Analyses of the Effects of a Diet and Resistance Exercise Intervention in Older Adults: Who Benefits Most From ProMuscle in Practice?

BackgroundThe ProMuscle in Practice intervention, comprising resistance exercise and an increased protein intake, was effective in improving muscle strength, lean body mass, and physical functioning in older adults aged 65 years and older (N = 168). However, a heterogeneous response to such interventions is common. Therefore, we explored the differences in responsiveness to the intervention in subgroups based on demographic characteristics and mobility-impairing disorders.MethodMultiple regression analyses were performed to study mean changes between baseline and 12 weeks on the Short Physical Performance Battery, chair rise test, lean body mass, knee extension strength, leg press strength, and leg extension strength. The interaction term Treatment × Subgroup was included to study differences in effects between subgroups. Subgroups comprised age (≤75 vs >75 years), sex (men vs women), presence of frailty, presence of sarcopenia, and presence of osteoarthritis.ResultsA significant interaction effect including age was found on lean body mass (β = −0.8; 95% CI: −1.5, −0.2), favoring participants aged 75 years and younger. A significant interaction effect including sex was found on leg press strength (β = 15.5; 95% CI: 0.6, 30.3), favoring women. Participants with or without frailty, sarcopenia, or osteoarthritis responded equally to the intervention in terms of absolute effects.ConclusionsParticipants aged 75 years and younger and women benefited to a great extent from the intervention, as they improved significantly on nearly every outcome. Effects in participants with and without a mobility-impairing disorder were comparable, indicating that the intervention is suitable for both groups.

Prediction of functional loss in emergency surgery is possible with a simple frailty screening tool

BackgroundSenior adults fear postoperative loss of independence the most, and this might represent an additional burden for families and society. The number of geriatric patients admitted to the emergency room requiring an urgent surgical treatment is rising, and the presence of frailty is the main risk factor for postoperative morbidity and functional decline. Frailty assessment in the busy emergency setting is challenging. The aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of a very simple five-item frailty screening tool, the Flemish version of the Triage Risk Screening Tool (fTRST), in predicting functional loss after emergency surgery among senior adults who were found to be independent before surgery.MethodsAll consecutive individuals aged 70 years and older who were independent (activity of daily living (ADL) score ≥5) and were admitted to the emergency surgery unit with an urgent need for abdominal surgery between December 2015 and May 2016 were prospectively included in the study. On admission, individuals were screened using the fTRST and additional metrics such as the age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (CACI) and the ASA score. Thirty- and 90-day complications and postoperative decline in the ADL score where recorded. Regression analysis was performed to identify preoperative predictors of functional loss.ResultsSeventy-eight patients entered the study. Thirty-day mortality rate was 12.8% (10/78), and the 90-day overall mortality was 15.4% (12/78). One in every four patients (17/68) experienced a significant functional loss at 30-day follow-up. At 90-day follow-up, only 3/17 patients recovered, 2 patients died, and 12 remained permanently dependent. On the regression analysis, a statistically significant correlation with functional loss was found for fTRST, CACI, and age≥85 years old both at 30 and 90 days after surgery. fTRST≥2 showed the highest effectiveness in predicting functional loss at 90 days with AUC 72 and OR 6.93 (95% CI 1.71–28.05). The institutionalization rate with the need to discharge patients to a healthcare facility was 7.6% (5/66); all of them had a fTRST≥2.ConclusionfTRST is an easy and effective tool to predict the risk of a postoperative functional decline and nursing home admission in the emergency setting.

Influence of nutritional status and frailty phenotype on health-related quality of life of patients with bladder or kidney cancer.

This research aimed to assess the impact of nutritional status and frailty in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with bladder or kidney cancer. This was a cross-sectional study with individuals aged 20 years or older. Frailty phenotype was defined using the criteria of Fried et al. (2001). Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) classified nutritional status. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of life questionnaire Core-30 third version (EORTC QLQ-C30) assessed HRQoL. Forty-four patients with bladder and 44 with kidney cancer, mostly male, with a mean age of 65.9 and 58.6 years, respectively, were evaluated. Presence of frailty was not different between young and older adults. More than 80% of the robust subjects were well-nourished, while there was a predominance of frail with some degree of malnutrition (p < 0.05). The summary score of HRQoL was worse among the frails than pre-frails and robusts, both in bladder (68.5 vs 86.8vs 89.5; p = 0.002) and in kidney cancer (54.9 vs 82.9 vs 91.4; p < 0.001), as well as in malnourished compared to well-nourished with bladder (72.9 vs 90.3; p = 0.003) and kidney cancer (69.4 vs 88.3; p = 0.001). After adjusted, frailty and malnutrition continued associated with poor summary score (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that frailty and malnutrition negatively affect HRQoL of patients with bladder or kidney cancer in several aspects.

Capacidade funcional e fragilidade de idosos com sequela de tuberculose pulmonar

INTRODUÇÃO: A tuberculose (TB) é uma doença de caráter infectocontagiosa, de evolução crônica, causada pela Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Uma vez considerada como doença crônica entre idosos por poder gerar sequelas e resultar em comprometimento da capacidade pulmonar, e desta forma contribuir para um quadro clínico de pior prognóstico é essencial estudar a relação da TB com a síndrome da fragilidade e a capacidade funcional em idosos. OBJETIVO: Analisar a capacidade funcional de idosos com seqüela de TB Pulmonar e investigar a ocorrência de fragilidade nesta população. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo transversal com método quantitativo-correlacional, realizado no período de agosto a novembro de 2017, no ambulatório de fisioterapia do Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Belém/PA. Avaliou-se a fragilidade pelo instrumento Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) e a capacidade funcional pelo “Teste de AVD-Glittre” (TGlittre). Utilizou-se a “correlação de Spearman” entre TFI e TGlittre. Adotou-se p-valor?0,05. RESULTADOS: Avaliaram-se 24 idosos com diagnóstico clínico de TB Pulmonar, apresentando alterações e/ou sequelas pulmonares. A média de idade foi de 68,37 +6,01anos, 66,7% era do sexo feminino. A presença de fragilidade foi de 70,5% (IC95% 48,9-87,4), com predomínio feminino (82,4%). A média do tempo no TGlittre foi de 5,77+1,71 minutos. Houve correlação moderada positiva entre TFI e TGlittre (p=0.42, p= 0.03). CONCLUSÃO: Este estudo identificou a fragilidade e comprometimento funcional em idosos com sequela de TB pulmonar, com prevalência alta de fragilidade se comparada aos outros estudos brasileiros com a população idosa, além de apresenta correlação moderada positiva entre a capacidade funcional e fragilidade, mostrando que essa população merece atenção especial nos programas de reabilitação para a manutenção ou recuperação funcional.

The dual presence of frailty and locomotive syndrome is associated with a greater decrease in the EQ-5D-5L index.

ABSTRACTJapan’s aging society is facing an increase in the prevalence of frailty and locomotive syndrome (LS) among older adults. To evaluate the association of these age-related declines on health-related quality of life (QOL) in Japan, we investigated this relationship among Japanese middle-aged and older adults who underwent general checkups and examined whether LS or frailty has a stronger association with the Japanese version of EuroQol’s five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) index. Participants were 231 middle-aged and older Japanese adults receiving routine health checkups. The study utilized the 25-item Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale, the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study, and the Japanese version of the EQ-5D-5L. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine how frailty and LS are related to the EQ-5D-5L index. Patients with both frailty (p = 0.003) and LS (p < 0.001) had a significantly lower EQ-5D-5L index. After adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index, LS was significantly associated with a decrease in the EQ-5D-5L index (p < 0.001), whereas frailty had no significant association with the EQ-5D-5L index (p = 0.052). Further analysis showed no significant decrease in the EQ-5D-5L index among those with frailty but no LS, and a significant decrease among those with frailty and LS. The results suggest that frailty and LS are associated with a decrease in the EQ-5D-5L index, but LS has a more pronounced effect. In evaluating frailty’s effects on health-related QOL, we determined the importance of separately assessing frailty both with and without LS, even within the same frailty group.

Frailty is associated with in-hospital mortality in older hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands: the COVID-OLD study.

BackgroundDuring the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, older patients had an increased risk of hospitalisation and death. Reports on the association of frailty with poor outcome have been conflicting.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to investigate the independent association between frailty and in-hospital mortality in older hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands.MethodsThis was a multicentre retrospective cohort study in 15 hospitals in the Netherlands, including all patients aged ≥70 years, who were hospitalised with clinically confirmed COVID-19 between February and May 2020. Data were collected on demographics, co-morbidity, disease severity and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 1,376 patients were included (median age 78 years (interquartile range 74–84), 60% male). In total, 499 (38%) patients died during hospital admission. Parameters indicating presence of frailty (CFS 6–9) were associated with more co-morbidities, shorter symptom duration upon presentation (median 4 versus 7 days), lower oxygen demand and lower levels of C-reactive protein. In multivariable analyses, the CFS was independently associated with in-hospital mortality: compared with patients with CFS 1–3, patients with CFS 4–5 had a two times higher risk (odds ratio (OR) 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3–3.0)) and patients with CFS 6–9 had a three times higher risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 2.8 (95% CI 1.8–4.3)).ConclusionsThe in-hospital mortality of older hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands was 38%. Frailty was independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality, even though COVID-19 patients with frailty presented earlier to the hospital with less severe symptoms.

Prevalencia del miedo a caer y factores asociados en personas mayores que viven en la comunidad

AimTo know, in the population over 70, independent for walking, the prevalence of the concern to fall according to the short version of the Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) questionnaire, in old people living in the community and their associated factors. DesignCross-sectional study. LocationCentro de Salud El Greco, Getafe, Madrid, Spain. Participants189 patients ≥70years with a Barthel ≥60, independent for walking (walk 45minutes without help or with a cane). The study was offered to a total of 328 people, of these accepted 217 and rejected 111. Main measurementsThe dependent variable, fear of falling (FOF), was evaluated by means of the short FES-I questionnaire, considering as a cut-off point for the positive screening of the MC a score ≥11. As independent variables we considered: Barthel index, Downton scale, the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) fragility test, falls in the last year, injuries associated with falls, time since the last fall, sensory deficit, use of gait devices, comorbidity and pharmacological treatment. ResultsThe prevalence of FOF was 42.9% (95%CI: 35.5-50.2). The factors associated with FOF in the final multivariate analysis were: female sex, living alone, high risk of falls, presence of frailty (SPPB≤9), use of hypotensive drugs, and injuries associated with previous falls. ConclusionsThe prevalence of FOF in older people is high. Primary Care professionals should systematize the screening of this health problem, prioritizing especially in people who present the following risk factors: being a woman, living alone, having a low score on the SPPB (as an indicator of frailty) or presenting a high risk of falls.

Дисфункция миокарда левого желудочка и показатели суточного профиля артериального давления у больных артериальной гипертензией со старческой астенией

Aim. To study and analyze the systolic and diastolic left ventricle (LV) function, parameters of the ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring in patients over 65 years of age with arterial hypertension, depending on the presence of frailty. Materials and methods. We examined 77 patients over 65 years of age (25 men and 52 women) with arterial hypertension, who were divided into two groups: with the presence of frailty (38 people) and its absence (39 people). To detect frailty, we used the "Age is not a hindrance" questionnaire validated in Russia and the "Get up and go" test. The examination included echocardiography with tissue doppler and ambulatory BP monitoring. Results. In both groups, LV systolic function remained within normal values, while diastolic function was impaired. In the group of people without frailty, type 1 of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction prevailed in 63% of cases, in the group with frailty, type 2 of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction with increased filling pressure was registered in 77% of cases. In both groups, both isolated systolic arterial hypertension and normal indicators of SBP and DBP were recorded during the day. Systolo-diastolic hypertension and hypotension have been presented by individual cases. At the same time, significant differences (p&lt;0.05) in the groups were revealed by the index of time of hypertension SBP at night and were higher in patients with frailty. Correlations were found between the time index of hypertension and SBP at night with the volume index of the left atrium in groups with frailty (0.34; p&lt;0.05) and without frailty (0.40; p&lt;0.05), as well as the time index of hypertension and SAD at night with the maximum rate of regurgitation on the tricuspid valve (0.42; p&lt;0.05) and with estimated systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery (0.41; p&lt;0.05) in the group with frailty. Conclusion. In the group of patients with arterial hypertension older than 65 years without frailty, violations of the left ventricular diastolic function by the type of slowing relaxation predominate, while in the group of patients with senile asthenia, violation of the left ventricular diastolic function by the type of pseudonormalization with increased filling pressure prevails. Features of the ambulatory BP monitoring of patients with hypertension older than 65 years with the presence of frailty are higher values of the time index of hypertension SBP at night. An increase in the time index of hypertension and SBP in patients with hypertension older than 65 years with frailty is associated with an increase in the volume of the left atrium, the rate of tricuspid regurgitation and systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery. The obtained data may indicate an adverse effect of frailty on the progression of heart failure in patients with arterial hypertension, which requires a comprehensive approach with the participation of a geriatrician in the management of such patients. Keywords: arterial hypertension, frailty, echocardiography, left ventricle, systolic function, diastolic function, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, blood pressure For citation: Fomina ES, Nikiforov VS, Frolova EV, Reshetnik DA. Left ventricular myocardial dysfunction and parameters of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in patients with arterial hypertension and frailty. Consilium Medicum. 2021; 23 (1): 80–83. DOI: 10.26442/20751753.2021.1.200476

Frailty and aging-associated syndromes in lung transplant candidates and recipients.

Many lung transplant candidates and recipients are older and frailer compared to previous eras. Older patients are at increased risk for pre- and posttransplant mortality, but this risk is not explained by numerical age alone. This manuscript represents the product of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) conference on frailty. Experts in the field reviewed the latest published research on assessment of elderly and frail lung transplant candidates. Physical frailty, often defined as slowness, weakness, low physical activity, shrinking, and exhaustion, and frailty evaluation is an important tool for evaluation of age-associated dysfunction. Another approach is assessment by cumulative deficits, and both types of frailty are common in lung transplant candidates. Frailty is associated with death or delisting before transplant, and may be associated with posttransplant mortality. Sarcopenia, cognitive dysfunction, depression, and nutrition are other important components for patient evaluation. Aging-associated inflammation, telomere dysfunction, and adaptive immune system senescence may also contribute to frailty. Developing tools for frailty assessment and interventions holds promise for improving patient outcomes before and after lung transplantation.

Association Between Activity Diversity and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Japanese: A Cross-Sectional Study

In addition to intensity and quality, diversity of activity will be an important factor to explain health outcomes among older adults. Few studies, though, examined an association between activity diversity and health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between activity diversity and frailty among community-dwelling older Japanese. Participants were community-dwelling older adults who participated in a cohort study, the “Otassya-Kenshin” in 2018 . The participants were asked frequency of 20 daily activities, inside/outside chores, leisure activities with/without physically, direct/indirect contact with friends and so on, in a week and activity diversity score were calculated using the formula of Shannon’s entropy. Frailty was defined by the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. The difference in diversity score between frail and non frail were examined by t-test. Logistic regression analysis with covariates, age, sex, economic status, living alone, BMI, Mini-Mental State Examination, and IADL was adopted to find association between activity diversity score and presence of frailty. Of 652 participants (age: 72.8±6.3, women: 60.6%) analyzed, 27 (4.1%) were defined as frail. Frailty group revealed significantly lower activity diversity score than non-frailty group (0.66±0.11 vs 0.75±0.08, P<0.01). 0.2 point of decrease in diversity score increase 5 times chance of frailty after controlling covariates. We found significant relationship between activity diversity and health outcome among older subjects. The activity diversity may provide additional information to number or intensity of activity.

Frailty and COVID 19 Infection in Hospitalized Veterans: A Case Series

Frailty, a clinical syndrome characterized by vulnerability to stressors resulting from loss of physiological reserve across multiple systems. In patients with COVID 19 infection, the presence of frailty may place older adults at higher risk for poor clinical outcomes including hospitalizations and mortality. The aim of this case-series study was to describe the characteristics of patients with frailty and COVID-19 who were hospitalized at a VA Medical Center. A VA Frailty Index (VA-FI) was generated at baseline as a proportion of variables from electronic health records. The VA-FI categorized Veterans into non-frail (FI<.21) and frail (FI≥.21). We calculated the VA-FI for Veterans admitted at the time of COVID-19 admission date. We compared the characteristics of frail and non-frail Veterans. A total of 137 veterans were admitted, 96.3% (n=132) were male, mean age 66.81 (SD=13.87) years, and 65.7% (n=90) were frail. When comparing Veterans who were frail versus non-frail, there were no differences in age, race, ethnicity, BMI, rates of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, ICU admissions, use of vasopressors or length of stay. There were significant differences in rates of intubation (frail n=10, vs. non-frail n=0), p = 0.018 and non-invasive respiratory support (frail n=9 vs non-frail n=0), p=.025. There were 13 and 7 readmissions in the frail and non-frail groups respectively. Eleven Veterans died during hospitalization, all of whom were frail. Frailty is associated with poor clinical outcomes in hospitalized Veterans with COVID 19 infection. Recognition of frailty may help to optimize the management of COVID 19 related complications.

Oncogeriatric. Other frailty assessment instruments

At present there is strong evidence demonstrating that not chronological age, but the presence of frailty before surgery is associated with a significant increase in postoperative morbidity, mortality, along with increased risk of delirium, disability, increased length of hospital stay and resource use. Therefore, preoperative frailty evaluations should become obligatory prior to high-risk surgery of older patients suffering from cancer. Currently, the golden standard is the full Geriatric Asses­sment. However, it requires time and, first of all, experience. Various simple frailty screening tools have been developed,, however, currently there is no single ideal one. Therefore, there is a constant search for the “holy grail” of preoperative geriatric evaluations. The Tilburg Frailty Indicator, the Edmonton Frail Scale, the Cardiovascular Health Study index, the Clinical Frailty Scale, the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures index and Frailty Index are examples of evaluation tools that have some features of screening scores and the full Geriatric Assessment. In the present article they were characterised briefly to familiarize the reader with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Abstract 14496: Frailty is Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Mortality in 2,837,152 United States Veterans Aged 65 and Older

Introduction: Frailty has been associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and CV events. There are limited data from the modern era of CV prevention to examine the relationship between frailty and CV mortality. We hypothesized that frailty would be associated with with increased risk of CV mortality. Methods: All Veterans ≥65 who were regular users of VA care from 2002–2014 were included. Index date was the last visit date in the year of cohort entry. Data were queried biennially, with frailty &amp; outcomes queried each period. Frailty was defined using a 31-item previously validated frailty index, ranging from 0-1. Degrees of frailty were defined as: not frail (FI &lt;0.1), pre-frail (FI &gt;0.1-≤0.2), mild frailty (FI &gt;0.2-≤0.3), moderate frailty (FI &gt;0.3-≤0.4), and severe frailty (FI &gt;0.4). Variables were extracted from national VA administrative data linked to Medicare and Medicaid. The primary outcome was CV mortality. Survival analysis was performed. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, geographic region, smoking status, hyperlipidemia, statin use, and blood-pressure medication use. Results: There were 2,837,152 Veterans included in the analysis. In 2002 mean age was 74+/- 5.8 years and in 2012 was 76+/- 8.1 years, 98% were male, 88.8% were white. In 2002, the median frailty score was 0.16 (IQR= 0.13). This increased and then stabilized to 0.19 for 2006 to 2012 (IQR= ranging 0.19 to 0.23). Overall frailty became more prevalent over time (prevalence increased from 31.9% in 2002 to 46.5% in 2012). The presence of frailty was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality at every degree of frailty and year, as shown in the Table. Discussion: Frailty is highly prevalent in the VA population, and both the presence and severity of frailty are tightly correlated with CV death. This study is the largest and most contemporary evaluation of the relationship between frailty and CV mortality to date. Further work is needed to understand how this risk can be diminished.

Divergent: Age, Frailty, and Atypical Presentations of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Patients.

BackgroundAlthough frailty has been associated with atypical manifestations of infections, little is known about COVID-19 presentations in hospitalized frail patients. We aimed to investigate the association between age, frailty, and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitalized middle-aged and older adults.MethodsLongitudinal observational study comprising 711 patients aged ≥50 years consecutively admitted to a university hospital dedicated to COVID-19 severe cases, between March and May 2020. We reviewed electronic medical records to collect data on demographics, comorbidities, COVID-19 signs/symptoms, and laboratory findings on admission. We defined frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS=1-9; frail ≥5). We also documented in-hospital mortality. We used logistic regressions to explore associations between age, frailty, and COVID-19 signs/symptoms; and between typical symptoms (fever, cough, dyspnea) and mortality.ResultsParticipants had a mean age of 66±11 years, and 43% were female. Overall, 25% were frail, and 37% died. The most common COVID-19 presentations were dyspnea (79%), cough (74%), and fever (62%), but patients aged ≥65 years were less likely to have a co-occurrence of typical symptoms, both in the absence (OR=0.56; 95%CI=0.39-0.79) and in the presence of frailty (OR=0.52; 95%CI=0.34-0.81). In contrast, older age and frailty were associated with unspecific presentations, including functional decline, acute mental change, and hypotension. After adjusting for age, sex, and frailty, reporting fever was associated with lower odds of mortality (OR=0.70; 95%CI=0.50-0.97).ConclusionsAtypical COVID-19 presentations are common in frail and older hospitalized patients. Providers should be aware of unspecific disease manifestations during the management and follow-up of this population.

Frailty syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease

Aim. To assess the prevalence of frailty and describe clinical features of frail patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods. 387 patients admitted to the hospital for elective primary coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were recruited in the study. Clinical data, demographic data, and the results of the instrumental examinations were collected for each subject. The primary screening of prefrailty and frailty in patients before the surgery was performed using the ’Age is not a hindrance’ questionnaire. The results were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0.0 software package. A value of p ≤ 0.050 was considered statistically significant. Results. Frailty was found in 19% of patients with coronary artery disease and multivessel coronary artery disease before open myocardial revascularization, while 58% of patients had prefrailty. The presence of frailty and prefrailty was associated with older and advanced age (p = 0.003), female sex (p = 0.001), type 2 diabetes mellitus (p = 0.006), as well as with comorbidities, including cerebral atherosclerosis (p = 0.020), and heart rhythm disturbances (p = 0.050). Conclusion. The results obtained in this study are consistent with other studies reporting higher levels of comorbidities among frail patients.