Abstract
Frailty is a dynamic status that can worsen or improve. However, changes in their frailty status that occur during hospitalization and their significance have not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, we explored the association between such changes and mortality 3 months after discharge in older adults hospitalized for acute care. In total, 257 participants (mean age 84.95 ± 5.88, 41.6% male) completed comprehensive geriatric assessments, including the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) at admission and discharge. Mean CFS score was 5.14 ± 1.35 at admission. CFS scores increased, indicating deteriorating frailty, in 29.2% of the participants (75/257) during hospitalization. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated a positive association between increased CFS score during hospitalization and mortality (odds ratio, 2.987) independent of potential co-founding factors. This deterioration in frailty during hospitalization may be modifiable risk factor of poor prognosis in older adults who need acute care hospitalization.
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We thank the participants and staff members who helped with the current study.
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This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers JP21H02826).
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HU formed the research question. All authors contributed to data collection. MN coded the data. HU conducted the analysis with input from MN, HK, KW, YY, TS, TT, and SM. HU wrote the manuscript and MN, HK, KW. YY, TS, TT, and SM reviewed the article. All authors approved the final draft.
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The study protocol was approved by our university's Ethics Committee (Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, approval no. 2019-0260).
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Umegaki, H., Nagae, M., Komiya, H. et al. Association between changes in frailty during hospitalization in older adults and 3-month mortality after discharge. Eur Geriatr Med 13, 1403–1406 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-022-00704-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-022-00704-7