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The prevalence of frailty and post-treatment outcomes in elderly women with pelvic floor disorders

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Women seeking treatment for pelvic floor disorders (PFD) may have a high prevalence of frailty, which could potentially impact the risks of treatment. The present study was aimed to assess the prevalence of frailty in patients with PFD and additionally to compare post-treatment complications between frail and non-frail patients.

Methods

This is a prospective observational study conducted in a single secondary referral centre for PFD. Women with PFD and aged ≥ 65 years were eligible for inclusion. Frailty was classified using a validated screening tool, the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI). The primary outcome was to determine the prevalence of frailty in elderly women with symptoms of pelvic floor disorders. Secondary outcomes were clinical outcomes after treatment between frail and non-frail patients.

Results

A total of 263 women were included. The prevalence of frailty was 54.4% (143 women, 95% CI 48.1–60.5) in the studied group of patients. Frail patients had more comorbidities and used more medication compared to non-frail patients. Non-frail patients were more often surgically treated than frail patients. No differences were found in the incidence of postoperative complications.

Conclusions

Our study shows a high prevalence of frailty in elderly women with symptoms of PFD. Further research is required to investigate whether these frail patients face an increased risk of complications and poor clinical outcomes after treatment for PFD.

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Abbreviations

PFD:

Pelvic floor dysfunction

GFI:

Groningen Frailty Indicator

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Sara Baart and Joost van Rosmalen for their supporting roles in the data analysis and Riëlla Bambelt for managing data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3318 AT, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

    Kelly de Jong, Matthieu Y. van der Vlist & Daniëlla M. J. Oom

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  1. Kelly de Jong
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  2. Matthieu Y. van der Vlist
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  3. Daniëlla M. J. Oom
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Contributions

K de Jong: Data analysis, Data management, Manuscript writing and editing.

MY van der Vlist: Project development, Protocol writing, Data collection, Manuscript editing.

DMJ Oom: Project development, Protocol editing, Manuscript editing.

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Correspondence to Kelly de Jong.

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de Jong, K., van der Vlist, M.Y. & Oom, D.M.J. The prevalence of frailty and post-treatment outcomes in elderly women with pelvic floor disorders. Int Urogynecol J 32, 3001–3006 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04682-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04682-5

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