Preliminary Evidence for Subdimensions of Geriatric Frailty: The MacArthur Study of Successful Aging

OBJECTIVES: To identify frailty subdimensions. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort (MacArthur Study). SETTING: Three U.S. urban centers. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand one hundred eighteen high‐functioning subjects aged 70 to 79 in 1988. MEASUREMENTS: Participants with three or more of five Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) frailty criteria (weight loss, weak grip, exhaustion, slow gait, and low physical activity) in 1991 were classified as having the CHS frailty phenotype. To identify frailty subdimensions, factor analysis was conducted using the CHS variables and an expanded set including the CHS variables, cognitive impairment, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), C‐reactive protein (CRP), subjective weakness, and anorexia. Participants with four or more of 10 criteria were classified as having an expanded frailty phenotype. Predictive validity of each identified frailty subdimension was assessed using regression models for 4‐year disability and 9‐year mortality. RESULTS: Two subdimensions of the CHS phenotype and four subdimensions of the expanded frailty phenotype were identified. Cognitive function was consistently part of a subdimension including slower gait, weaker grip, and lower physical activity. The CHS subdimension of slower gait, weaker grip, and lower physical activity predicted disability (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.3–2.2) and mortality (AOR=1.5, 95% CI=1.3–1.8). Subdimensions of the expanded model with predictive validity were higher IL‐6 and CRP (AOR=1.2 for mortality); slower gait, weaker grip, lower physical activity, and lower cognitive function (AOR=1.8 for disability; AOR=1.5 for mortality), and anorexia and weight loss (AOR=1.2 for disability). CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary empirical support for subdimensions of geriatric frailty, suggesting that pathways to frailty differ and that subdimension‐adapted care might enhance care of frail seniors.     

Development of a Frailty Index for Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

OBJECTIVES: To construct a brief frailty index for older patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing coronary angiography that includes physical, cognitive, and psychosocial criteria and accurately predicts future disability and decline in health‐related quality of life (HRQL). DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: An urban tertiary care hospital in Alberta, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred seventy‐four patients aged 60 and older (73% male) undergoing cardiac catheterization for CAD between October 2003 and May 2007. MEASUREMENTS: Potential frailty criteria examined at baseline (before the procedure) included measures of balance, gait speed, cognition, self‐reported health, body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and living alone. The outcomes assessed over 1 year were dependency in activities of daily living (ADLs) and HRQL. RESULTS: The five best‐fitting criteria from regression analyses for ADL decline were poor balance (risk ratio (RR)=2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.4–4.0), abnormal BMI (RR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1–3.0), impaired Trail‐Making Test Part B performance (RR=2.3, 95% CI=1.3–4.2), depressive symptoms (RR=1.8, 95% CI=1.1–3.1), and living alone (RR=2.2, 95% CI=1.3–3.8). Using the five criteria as separate variables or as a summary frailty index yielded identical areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.76, 95% CI=0.66–0.84). Patients with three or more criteria (vs none) were at statistically significant greater risk for increased disability (RR=10.4, 95% CI=4.4–24.2) and decreased HRQL (RR=4.2, 95% CI=2.3–7.4) after 1 year. CONCLUSION: This brief frailty index including physical, cognitive, and psychosocial criteria was predictive of increased disability and decreased HRQL at 1 year in older patients with CAD undergoing angiography. This index may have applications for clinicians and researchers but requires further validation.     

Prognostic value of physical function tests and muscle mass in elderly hospitalized patients. A prospective observational study

Aim

To determine the prognostic value for mortality of physical function tests, muscle mass loss, disability and frailty in elderly hospitalized patients.

Methods

We prospectively included 298 hospitalized patients aged >60 years (152 men and 146 women). We assessed comorbidity using the Charlson Comorbidity Index; nutrition by body mass index, midarm muscle area and subjective nutritional score; physical muscle function by handgrip strength, gait speed, standing balance and stand up test; disability using the Barthel test and activities of daily living; frailty by the clinical frailty scale and Fried frailty index; and cognitive impairment by the Pfeiffer test. We assessed 100‐day and long‐term mortality.

Results

We found a high prevalence of malnutrition, comorbidity, cognitive impairment, physical function impairment, disability and frailty. Mortality at 100 days was 15.1%, with a long‐term median survival of 989 days. Mortality was significantly related to age, comorbidity, nutritional status, physical function, disability and frailty. Serum vitamin D₃ levels were not related to mortality. Independent prognostic value for long‐term mortality was shown by: (i) incapacity to carry out any of the walking, stand up and standing balance tests; (ii) male sex; (iii) aged >80 years; (iv) impaired handgrip strength or gait speed; (v) Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥1; and (6) impaired muscle mass of subjective nutritional score.

Conclusions

In elderly hospitalized patients, there is an important role of muscle regarding prognosis, mainly related to physical function, but also and independently regarding muscle mass. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 57–64 .     

Frailty: emergence and consequences in women aged 65 and older in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study

OBJECTIVES: To define frailty using simple indicators; to identify risk factors for frailty as targets for prevention; and to investigate the predictive validity of this frailty classification for death, hospitalization, hip fracture, and activity of daily living (ADL) disability. DESIGN: Prospective study, the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. SETTING: Forty U.S. clinical centers. PARTICIPANTS: Forty thousand six hundred fifty-seven women aged 65 to 79 at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: Components of frailty included self-reported muscle weakness/impaired walking, exhaustion, low physical activity, and unintended weight loss between baseline and 3 years of follow-up. Death, hip fractures, ADL disability, and hospitalizations were ascertained during an average of 5.9 years of follow-up. RESULTS: Baseline frailty was classified in 16.3% of participants, and incident frailty at 3-years was 14.8%. Older age, chronic conditions, smoking, and depressive symptom score were positively associated with incident frailty, whereas income, moderate alcohol use, living alone, and self-reported health were inversely associated. Being underweight, overweight, or obese all carried significantly higher risk of frailty than normal weight. Baseline frailty independently predicted risk of death (hazard ratio (HR)=1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.48-1.97), hip fracture (HR=1.57, 95% CI=1.11-2.20), ADL disability (odds ratio (OR)=3.15, 95% CI=2.47-4.02), and hospitalizations (OR=1.95, 95% CI=1.72-2.22) after adjustment for demographic characteristics, health behaviors, disability, and comorbid conditions. CONCLUSION: These results support the robustness of the concept of frailty as a geriatric syndrome that predicts several poor outcomes in older women. Underweight, obesity, smoking, and depressive symptoms are strongly associated with the development of frailty and represent important targets for prevention.     

Frailty Measures of Patient-reported Activity and Fatigue May Predict 1-year Outcomes in Ambulatory Advanced Heart Failure: A Report From the REVIVAL Registry

BackgroundThe Fried Frailty Phenotype predicts adverse outcomes in geriatric populations, but has not been well-studied in advanced heart failure (HF). The Registry Evaluation of Vital Information for Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) in Ambulatory Life (REVIVAL) study prospectively collected frailty measures in patients with advanced HF to determine relevant assessments and their impact on clinical outcomes.Methods and ResultsHF-Fried Frailty was defined by 5 baseline components (1 point each): (1) weakness: hand grip strength less than 25% of body weight; (2) slowness based on time to walk 15 feet; (3) weight loss of more than 10 lbs in the past year; (4) inactivity; and (5) exhaustion, both assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire. A score of 0 or 1 was deemed nonfrail, 2 prefrail, and 3 or greater was considered frail. The primary composite outcome was durable mechanical circulatory support implantation, cardiac transplant or death at 1 year. Event-free survival for each group was determined by the Kaplan–Meier method and the hazard of prefrailty and frailty were compared with nonfrailty with proportional hazards modeling. Among 345 patients with all 5 frailty domains assessed, frailty was present in 17%, prefrailty in 40%, and 43% were nonfrail, with 67% (n = 232) meeting the criteria based on inactivity and 54% (n = 186) for exhaustion. Frail patients had an increased risk of the primary composite outcome (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.52–5.24; adjusted HR 3.41, 95% CI 1.79–6.52), as did prefrail patients (unadjusted HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.14–3.41; adjusted HR 2.11, 95% CI 1.21–3.66) compared with nonfrail patients, however, the predictive value of HF-Fried Frailty criteria was modest (Harrel's C-statistic of 0.603, P = .004).ConclusionsThe HF-Fried Frailty criteria had only modest predictive power in identifying ambulatory patients with advanced HF at high risk for durable mechanical circulatory support, transplant, or death within 1 year, driven primarily by assessments of inactivity and exhaustion. Focus on these patient-reported measures may better inform clinical trajectories in this population.     

Validation and Comparison of Two Frailty Indexes: The MOBILIZE Boston Study

OBJECTIVES: To validate two established frailty indexes and compare their ability to predict adverse outcomes in a diverse, elderly, community‐dwelling sample of men and women. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: A diverse defined geographic area of Boston. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred sixty‐five community‐dwelling participants in the Maintenance of Balance, Independent Living, Intellect, and Zest in the Elderly Boston Study. MEASUREMENTS: Two published frailty indexes, recurrent falls, disability, overnight hospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits, chronic medical conditions, self‐reported health, physical function, cognitive ability (including executive function), and depression. One index was developed from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) and the other from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). RESULTS: The SOF frailty index classified 77.1% as robust, 18.7% as prefrail, and 4.2% as frail. The CHS frailty index classified 51.2% as robust, 38.8% as prefrail, and 10.0% as frail. Both frailty indexes (SOF; CHS) were similar in their ability to predict key geriatric outcomes such as recurrent falls (hazard ratio (HR)_frail=2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2–4.0; HR_frail=1.9, 95% CI=1.2–3.1), overnight hospitalization (odds ratio (OR)_frail=3.5, 95% CI=1.5–8.0; OR_frail=4.4, 95% CI=2.4–8.2), ED visits (OR_frail=3.5, 95% CI=1.4,8.8; OR_frail=3.1, 95% CI=1.6–5.9), and disability (OR_frail=5.4, 95% CI=2.3–12.3; OR_frail=7.7, 95% CI=4.0–14.7), as well as chronic medical conditions, physical function, cognitive ability, and depression. CONCLUSION: Two established frailty indexes were validated using an independent elderly sample of diverse men and women; both indexes were good at distinguishing geriatric conditions and predicting recurrent falls, overnight hospitalization, and ED visits according to level of frailty. Although both indexes are good measures of frailty, the simpler SOF index may be easier and more practical in a clinical setting.     

Prediction of functional disability by depressive state among community‐dwelling elderly in Japan: A prospective cohort study

Aim: We carried out a prospective cohort study to evaluate the risk factors of functional disability by depressive state. Methods: A total of 783 men and women, aged 70 years and over, participated in this study. We followed the participants in terms of the onset of functional disability by using a public long‐term care insurance database. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to measure depressive state. Age, sex, history of chronic disease, living alone, fall experience, cognitive impairment, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), the Motor Fitness Scale (MFS), frequency of going out and social support at baseline were used as the main covariates. The Cox regression analysis was used to examine the difference in functional disability stratified according to depressive state. Results: The incidence of functional disability was 38 persons in the non‐depression group and 42 persons in the depression group (RR 2.34; 95% CI 1.46–3.79). The results of the depression group showed a significant difference in cognitive impairment (HR 3.51; 95% CI 1.39–8.85), MFS (HR 5.60; 95% CI 1.32–23.81) and IADL (HR 3.37; 95% CI 1.65–6.85). The results of the non‐depression group showed a significant difference in MFS (HR 2.97; 95% CI 1.47–6.96), and frequency of going out (HR 3.21; 95% CI 1.47–6.96). Conclusions: In conclusion, risk factors for functional disability were found to differ on the basis of whether or not community‐dwelling elderly individuals experience depressive state. The type of support offered must be based on whether or not depressive state is present. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; ??: ??–?? .     

Frailty phenotype,frailty index and risk of mortality in Chinese elderly population- Rugao longevity and ageing study

Background: To explore the associations of frailty phenotype and frailty index (FI) defined frailty and pre-frailty with mortality in a Chinese elderly population.Methods: Data of 1788 community-dwelling elders aged 70–84 years from the ageing arm of Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study, a prospective cohort study, were used. Frailty phenotype was defined using modified Fried’s phenotype (FP) criteria and FI was constructed using 45 health deficits. Mortality was ascertained using the Death Registry of Rugao's Civil Affairs Bureau.Results: During 3-year follow-up, 149 (8.3%) of the 1788 elderly subjects died. For frailty phenotype, about 9.5% of the elderly were frail and 43% were pre-frail. For FI, frail (FI > 0.21) was approximately 27.5%, and pre-frail (FI: 0.1–0.21) was approximately 51.3%. Highest mortality was observed among frail participants defined by both FP and FI criteria (all Log Rank P < 0.05). Frailty defined by the frailty index was associated with a 2.31 fold (95% CI 1.16–4.6) risk of all-cause death compared with robust elderly. Compared with the robust elderly, not only frailty (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.31–3.83) defined by frailty phenotype but also pre-frailty (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.03–2.21) was associated with risk of all-cause mortality.Conclusions: Frailty, defined by either phenotype or index, is associated with increased risks of mortality in elderly Chinese community population.     

Influence of Poor Oral Health on Physical Frailty: A Population‐Based Cohort Study of Older British Men

Objectives

To investigate the associations between objective and subjective measures of oral health and incident physical frailty.

Design

Cross‐sectional and longitudinal study with 3 years of follow‐up using data from the British Regional Heart Study.

Setting

General practices in 24 British towns.

Participants

Community‐dwelling men aged 71 to 92 (N = 1,622).

Measurements

Objective assessments of oral health included tooth count and periodontal disease. Self‐reported oral health measures included overall self‐rated oral health; dry mouth symptoms; sensitivity to hot, cold, and sweet; and perceived difficulty eating. Frailty was defined using the Fried phenotype as having 3 or more of weight loss, grip strength, exhaustion, slow walking speed, and low physical activity. Incident frailty was assessed after 3 years of follow‐up in 2014.

Results

Three hundred three (19%) men were frail at baseline (aged 71–92). Having fewer than 21 teeth, complete tooth loss, fair to poor self‐rated oral health, difficulty eating, dry mouth, and more oral health problems were associated with greater likelihood of being frail. Of 1,284 men followed for 3 years, 107 (10%) became frail. The risk of incident frailty was higher in participants who were edentulous (odds ratio (OR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03–3.52); had 3 or more dry mouth symptoms (OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.18–3.48); and had 1 (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.18–4.64), 2 (OR = 2.30, 95% CI = 1.09–4.84), or 3 or more (OR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.11–6.64) oral health problems after adjustment for age, smoking, social class, history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus, and medications related to dry mouth.

Conclusion

The presence of oral health problems was associated with greater risks of being frail and developing frailty in older age. The identification and management of poor oral health in older people could be important in preventing frailty.     

Proton pump inhibitor discontinuation in long-term care

OBJECTIVES: To determine factors associated with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) discontinuation in long‐term care. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Veterans Affairs (VA) long‐term care facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Veterans admitted for nonhospice care in 2005 with a length of stay of 7 days or more who were prescribed a PPI within 7 days of admission (N=10,371). MEASUREMENTS: Prescribed medications and comorbidities were determined from VA pharmacy and administrative databases and functional status from Minimum Data Set records. Associations between participant characteristics and PPI discontinuation were determined using Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs), censoring at death, discharge, or 180 days after admission. RESULTS: Participants were predominantly male (97%) and had a median age of 73 (interquartile range 60–81). There were 2,749 (27%) PPI discontinuations; 43% of these occurred within 28 days of admission. Hospitalizations (HR=1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01–1.46), preadmission PPI use (HR=1.35, 95% CI=1.16–1.56), and lowest functional status (HR=1.22, 95% CI=1.03–1.45) were associated with early PPI discontinuation in adjusted models. Participants with gastric acid–related disease (HR=0.53, 95% CI 0.46–0.61), diabetes mellitus (HR=0.82, 95% CI 0.72–0.94), and those who were prescribed six or more medications (6–7 medications, HR=0.78, 95% CI=0.66–0.92; 8–10 medications, HR=0.64, 95% CI=0.54–0.76; ≥11 medications 0.51, 95% CI=0.42–0.62) were less likely to have early discontinuation. No PPI discontinuer had PPIs resumed during the study, and few (9%) had histamine‐2 receptor antagonist substitutions. CONCLUSION: Although there may be clinical uncertainty regarding PPI discontinuation, more than one‐quarter of participants prescribed a PPI upon admission to long‐term care had it discontinued within 180 days. Targeting individuals prescribed PPIs for medication appropriateness review may reduce prescribing of potentially nonindicated medications.     

Frailty and health risks in an agricultural population,Chile 2014–2017

BackgroundAging presents an emerging health and social challenge. We report the prevalence of frailty, its association with chronic diseases and the risk of hospitalization or death within 29 months.MethodsCross-sectional and prospective study. From 2014 to 2017, we examined frailty in an agricultural population in Chile. We enrolled 619 individuals aged 60–74 years from the Maule Cohort. Measured frailty prevalence, based the presence of ≥3 of the five factors (unintentional weight loss, weakness, slowness, self-reported exhaustion, low physical activity). We explored chronic diseases as predictors of frailty with multinomial regression models (sex, age, and schooling adjusted), and the risk of hospitalization and mortality by frailty status, with Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival curves.Results6% of participants were frail; women had higher prevalence of frailty (8.2%) than men (2.3%, <0.001). Diabetes was a risk factor of frailty (Relative Risk Ratio: 3.91; 95% CI: 1.84–8.32). The incidence of hospitalization was 32% in frail (Hazard Ratio, HR: 3.68; 95% CI: 1.77–7.63), 16% in pre-frail (HR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.19–3.08) and 9% in robust participants. Among the participants, men had higher risk of hospitalization than women (7.1 and 4.1 per 1000 person-month, p = .014). In all mortality was higher among men than women (1.0 and 0.2 per 1000 person-month, p = .031).ConclusionsIn this agricultural population, diabetes was main chronic disease as risk factor of frailty. Frail older adults had higher risk of hospitalization than robust people, and especially men, had higher risk of adverse health event in a short-term.     

The nonlinear relationship between gait speed and falls: the Maintenance of Balance, Independent Living, Intellect, and Zest in the Elderly of Boston Study

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between gait speed and falls risk. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of the association between gait speed and subsequent falls and analysis of gait speed decline as a predictor of future falls. SETTING: Population‐based cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred sixty‐three community‐dwelling older adults underwent baseline assessments and were followed for falls; 600 completed an 18‐month follow‐up assessment to determine change in gait speed and were followed for subsequent falls. MEASUREMENTS: Gait speed was measured during a 4‐m walk, falls data were collected from monthly post‐card calendars, and covariates were collected from in‐home and clinic visits. RESULTS: There was a U‐shaped relationship between gait speed and falls, with participants with faster (≥1.3 m/s, incident rate ratio (IRR)=2.12, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.48–3.04) and slower (<0.6 m/s, IRR=1.60, 95% CI=1.06–2.42) gait speeds at higher risk than those with normal gait speeds (1.0–<1.3 m/s). In adjusted analyses, slower gait speeds were associated with greater risk of indoor falls (<0.6 m/s, IRR=2.17, 95% CI=1.33–3.55; 0.6–<1.0 m/s, IRR=1.45, 95% CI=1.08–1.94), and faster gait speed was associated with greater risk of outdoor falls (IRR=2.11, 95% CI=1.40–3.16). A gait speed decline of more than 0.15 m/s per year predicted greater risk of all falls (IRR=1.86, 95% CI=1.15–3.01). CONCLUSION: There is a nonlinear relationship between gait speed and falls, with a greater risk of outdoor falls in fast walkers and a greater risk of indoor falls in slow walkers.     

Advanced chronic kidney disease: Relationship to outcomes post‐TAVR,a meta‐analysis

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with worse outcomes in high‐surgical‐risk patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, it is unclear whether this relationship is apparent in lower‐surgical‐risk patients. We sought to analyze existing literature to assess whether or not advanced CKD is associated with increased mortality or a greater incidence of adverse events (specifically major stroke, bleeding, and vascular complications). We searched PubMed and Embase (2008–2017) for relevant studies. Studies with <1 year follow‐up and those not evaluating advanced CKD or outcomes post‐TAVR were excluded. Our co–primary endpoints were the incidence of short‐term mortality (defined as in‐hospital or 30‐day mortality) and long‐term mortality (1 year). Our secondary endpoints included incidence of major stroke, life‐threatening bleeding, and major vascular complications. Eleven observational studies with a total population of 10709 patients met the selection criteria. Among patients with CKD there was an increased risk of short‐ and long‐term mortality in high‐surgical‐risk patients who underwent TAVR (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22–1.88 and HR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.38–1.77, respectively; P < 0.01). However, there was no association between CKD and mortality in low‐ to intermediate‐risk patients (HR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.98–1.84, P = 0.06 in short‐term and HR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.92–1.27, P = 0.34 in long‐term). In low‐ to intermediate‐risk TAVR patients, advanced CKD is not associated with increased mortality or poorer safety outcomes. These findings should be factored into the clinical decision‐making process regarding TAVR candidacy.     

Identifying frailty in hospitalized older adults with significant coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVES: To characterize physiological variation in hospitalized older adults with severe coronary artery disease (CAD) and evaluate the prevalence of frailty in this sample, to determine whether single-item performance measures are good indicators of multidimensional frailty, and to estimate the association between frailty and 6-month mortality. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Inpatient hospital cardiology ward. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred nine consecutive inpatients aged 70 and older admitted to a cardiology service (n = 309; 70% male, 84% white) with minimum two-vessel CAD determined using cardiac catheterization. MEASUREMENTS: Two standard frailty phenotypes (Composite A and Composite B), usual gait speed, grip strength, chair stands, cardiology clinical variables, and 6-month mortality. RESULTS: Prevalence of frailty was 27% for Composite A versus 63% for Composite B. Utility of single-item measures for identifying frailty was greatest for gait speed (receiver operating characteristic curve c statistic = 0.89 for Composite A, 0.70 for Composite B) followed by chair-stands (c = 0.83, 0.66) and grip strength (c = 0.78, 0.57). After adjustment, composite scores and single-item measures were individually associated with higher mortality at 6 months. Slow gait speed (< or =0.65 m/s) and poor grip strength (< or =25 kg) were stronger predictors of 6-month mortality than either composite score (gait speed odds ratio (OR)=3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-13.1; grip strength OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 0.7-10.0; Composite A OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 0.60-6.1; chair-stand OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.5-5.1; Composite B OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.3-5.2). CONCLUSION: Gait speed frailty was the strongest predictor of mortality in a population with CAD and may add to traditional risk assessments when predicting outcomes in this population.     

Sex differences in the prevalence and prognostic impact of physical frailty and sarcopenia among older patients with heart failure

Background and aimsFrailty and sarcopenia are common and confer poor prognosis in elderly patients with heart failure; however, gender differences in its prevalence or prognostic impact remain unclear.Methods and resultsWe included 1332 patients aged ≥65 years, who were hospitalized for heart failure. Frailty and sarcopenia were defined using the Fried phenotype model and Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria, respectively. Gender differences in frailty and sarcopenia, and interactions between sex and prognostic impact of frailty/sarcopenia on 1-year mortality were evaluated. Overall, 53.9% men and 61.0% women and 23.7% men and 14.0% women had frailty and sarcopenia, respectively. Although sarcopenia was more prevalent in men, no gender differences existed in frailty after adjusting for age. On Kaplan–Meier analysis, frailty and sarcopenia were significantly associated with 1-year mortality in both sexes. On Cox proportional hazard analysis, frailty was associated with 1-year mortality only in men, after adjusting for confounding factors (hazard ratio [HR], 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19–3.16; P = 0.008 for men; HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 0.84–3.13; P = 0.147 for women); sarcopenia was an independent prognostic factor in both sexes (HR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.13–3.31; P = 0.017 for men; HR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.59–5.64; P = 0.001 for women). There were no interactions between sex and prognostic impact of frailty/sarcopenia (P = 0.806 for frailty; P = 0.254 for sarcopenia).ConclusionsFrailty and sarcopenia negatively affect older patients with heart failure from both sexes.Clinical trialsThis study was registered at the University Hospital Information Network (UMIN-CTR, unique identifier: UMIN000023929) before the first patient was enrolled.     

Outcome and risk factors for late-onset complications 24 months beyond allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the incidence of late complications occurring ≥2 years after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for malignant diseases using a T‐cell depletion strategy. Methods: Between 1984 and 2004, 142 patients were eligible for the study. Total body irradiation (TBI) was carried out in 85% of the patients and T‐cell depletion in 84%. Results: Non‐relapse mortality (NRM) was 3% (95% CI 0–11) at 10 years, and serious late events affected a substantial number of patients. The cumulative incidence (CI) of chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGvHD) was 30% (95% CI 23–40), and that of infectious complications was 17% (95% CI 11–23). Multivariate analysis showed a higher risk for late complications in patients with cGvHD (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2–3.2, P = 0.011) and patients receiving methylprednisolone during conditioning (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–3.3, P = 0.019 1), patients with cGvHD also having a higher risk for NRM (HR 13.2, 95% CI 1.2–143, P = 0.03), as well as those receiving steroids for >3 months (HR 40.3, 95% CI 2.3–718, P = 0.02) and those receiving antithymocyte globulin (HR 9.6, 95% CI 0.8–68, P = 0.024). Conclusions: A significant proportion of long‐term survivors of HSCT had late complications. cGvHD remained an important risk factor for late complications despite T‐cell depletion resulting in immunosuppression and infectious complications.     

Effects of whey protein nutritional supplement on muscle function among community-dwelling frail older people: A multicenter study in China

BackgroundFrailty, featured by the presence of fatigue, weight loss, decrease in grip strength, decline gait speed and reduced activities substantially increase the risk of falls, disability, hospitalizations, and mortality of older people. Nutritional supplementation and resistance exercise may improve muscle function and reverse frailty status.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether whey protein supplements can improve muscle function of frail older people in addition to resistance exercise.Methods115 community-dwelling older adults who met the Fried's criteria for frailty from four hospitals’ out-patients clinic in Beijing, China completed the study. It's a case–control study which whey protein was used as daily supplementation for 12 weeks for active group and regular resistance exercise for active group and control group. Handgrip strength, gait speed, chair-stand test, balance score, and SPPB score were compared in both groups during the 12-week follow-up.ResultsOverall, 115 subjects were enrolled for study with 66 in active group and 49 in control group. Handgrip strength, gait speed, and chair-stand time were all significantly improved in both groups with significant between-group differences. The active group improved significantly in handgrip strength compared with the control group, which between-group effect (95% confidence interval) for female was 0.107 kg (0.066–0.149), p = 0.008 and for male was 0.89 kg (0.579–1.201), p = 0.007. For chair-stand time, between-group effect (95% confidence interval) was −2.875 s (−3.62 to −2.124), p = 0.004 and for gait speed, between-group effect (95% confidence interval) was 0.109 m/s (0.090 to 0.130), p = 0.003.ConclusionsThe 12-week intervention of whey protein oral nutritional supplement revealed significant improvements in muscle function among the frailty elderly besides aiding with resistance exercise. These results warrant further investigations into the role of a multi-modal supplementation approach which could prevent adverse outcomes among frailty elderly at risk for various disabilities.     

The effect of neighborhood deprivation and residential relocation on long-term injection cessation among injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, Maryland

Aims To determine the incidence of long‐term injection cessation and its association with residential relocation and neighborhood deprivation. Design ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) is a prospective cohort with semi‐annual follow‐up since 1988. Multi‐level discrete time‐to‐event models were constructed to investigate individual and neighborhood‐level predictors of long‐term injection cessation. Setting Baltimore, USA. Participants A total of 1697 active injectors from ALIVE with at least eight semi‐annual study visits. Measurements Long‐term injection cessation was defined as 3 consecutive years without self‐reported injection drug use. Findings A total of 706 (42%) injectors achieved long‐term cessation (incidence = 7.6 per 100 person‐years). After adjusting for individual‐level factors, long‐term injection cessation was 29% less likely in neighborhoods in the third quartile of deprivation [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53, 0.95) and 43% less likely in the highest quartile of deprivation (HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.76) compared to the first quartile. Residential relocation was associated with increased likelihood of long‐term injection cessation (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.82); however, the impact of relocation varied depending on the deprivation in the destination neighborhood. Compared to those who stayed in less deprived neighborhoods, relocation from highly deprived to less deprived neighborhoods had the strongest positive impact on long‐term injection cessation (HR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.50, 2.57), while staying in the most deprived neighborhoods was detrimental (HR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.63, 0.93). Conclusions Long‐term cessation of injection of opiates and cocaine occurred frequently following a median of 9 years of injection and contextual factors appear to be important. Our findings suggest that improvements in the socio‐economic environment may improve the effectiveness of cessation programs.     

Musculoskeletal pain and incident disability in community‐dwelling older adults

Objective

To test the hypothesis that the number of areas of musculoskeletal pain reported is related to incident disability.

Methods

Subjects included 898 older persons from the Rush Memory and Aging Project without dementia, stroke, or Parkinson's disease at baseline. All participants underwent detailed baseline evaluation of self‐reported pain in the neck or back, hands, hips, knees, or feet, as well as annual self‐reported assessments of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), basic activities of daily living (ADLs), and mobility disability. Mobility disability was also assessed using a performance‐based measure.

Results

The average followup was 5.6 years. Using a series of proportional hazards models that controlled for age, sex, and education, the risk of IADL disability increased by ～10% for each additional painful area reported (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.01–1.20) and the risk of ADL disability increased by ～20% for each additional painful area (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.11–1.31). The association with self‐report mobility disability did not reach significance (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.99–1.20). However, the risk of mobility disability based on gait speed performance increased by ～13% for each additional painful area (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04–1.22). These associations did not vary by age, sex, or education and were unchanged after controlling for several potential confounding variables including body mass index, physical activity, cognition, depressive symptoms, vascular risk factors, and vascular diseases.

Conclusion

Among nondisabled community‐dwelling older adults, the risk of disability increases with the number of areas reported with musculoskeletal pain.     

The role of non-invasive home mechanical ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring prolonged weaning

Background and objective: Patients with COPD who require prolonged weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation show poor long‐term survival. Whether non‐invasive home mechanical ventilation (HMV) has a beneficial effect after prolonged weaning has not yet been clearly determined. Methods: Patients with COPD who required prolonged weaning and were admitted to a specialized weaning centre between January 2002 and February 2008 were enrolled in the study. Long‐term survival and prognostic factors, including the role of non‐invasive HMV, were evaluated. Results: Of 117 patients (87 men, 30 women; mean age 69.5 ± 9.5 years) included in the study, weaning from invasive ventilation was achieved in 82 patients (70.1%). Successful weaning was associated with better survival 1 year after discharge from hospital (hazard ratio (HR) 2.24, 95% CI: 1.16–4.31; P = 0.016). Among the 82 patients who were successfully weaned, non‐invasive HMV was initiated in 39 (47.6%) due to persistent chronic ventilatory failure. Initiation of HMV was associated with a higher rate of survival to 1 year as compared with patients who did not receive ventilatory support (84.2% vs 54.3%; HR 3.68, 95% CI: 1.43–9.43; P = 0.007). In addition, younger age and higher PaO₂, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit at discharge were associated with better survival. In an adjusted multivariate analysis, initiation of non‐invasive HMV after successful weaning remained an independent prognostic factor for survival to 1 year (HR 3.63, 95% CI: 1.23–10.75; P = 0.019). Conclusions: These findings suggest that based on the potential for improvement in long‐term survival, non‐invasive HMV should be considered in patients with severe COPD and persistent chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure after prolonged weaning.