Frailty but Not Sarcopenia nor Malnutrition Increases the Risk of Developing COVID-19 in Older Community-dwelling Adults

Overview

Journal Aging Clin Exp Res

Publisher Springer

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2021 Oct 24

PMID 34689315

Citations 7

Authors

Laetitia Lengele

Medea Locquet

Michel Moutschen

Charlotte Beaudart

Jean-Francois Kaux

Sophie Gillain

Jean-Yves Reginster

Olivier Bruyere

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The identification of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk factors is requested to implement prevention strategies.

Aim: To explore the associations between the COVID-19 incidence and malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty, identified as potential risk factors in previous cross-sectional studies.

Methods: Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty were assessed at the last available follow-up from the Sarcopenia and Physical Impairments with Advancing Age (SarcoPhAge) cohort (i.e., the fifth year that ended in 2019) according to the Mini-Nutritional Assessment short-form, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), and the Fried criteria, respectively. Information regarding the COVID-19 was gathered by phone calls interviews in April 2021 to measure its self-declared incidence. Adjusted Cox regressions and Kaplan-Meier curves were performed.

Results: The present study included 241 participants [median age 75.6 (73.0-80.6) years, 63.1% women]. Among them, 27 participants (11.2%) developed the non-fatal Covid-19. No significant increased risks of COVID-19 were observed in patients with malnutrition [adjusted HR 1.14 (0.26-5.07)] and sarcopenia [adjusted HR 1.25 (0.35-4.42)]. Nevertheless, the incidence of COVID-19 was significantly higher in frail (44.4%) than in robust participants (8.5%) [Adjusted HR 7.01 (2.69-18.25)], which was confirmed by the Kaplan-Meier curves (p < 0.001). Among the frailty syndrome components, a low physical activity level was the only one significantly associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 [adjusted HR 5.18 (1.37-19.54)].

Conclusion: Despite some limitations in the methodology of this study (i.e., limited sample size, COVID-19 incidence self-reported and not assessed systematically using objective measurements) requiring careful consideration, an increased risk to develop COVID-19 was observed in the presence of the frailty syndrome. Further investigations are needed to elaborate on our findings.

Citing Articles

Assessing the Impact of Frailty on Infection Risk in Older Adults: Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Yang Y, Che K, Deng J, Tang X, Jing W, He X JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2024; 10:e59762.

PMID: 39412881 PMC: 11498063. DOI: 10.2196/59762.

Association of frailty with influenza and hospitalization due to influenza among independent older adults: a longitudinal study of Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Iwai-Saito K, Sato K, Aida J, Kondo K BMC Geriatr. 2023; 23(1):249.

PMID: 37101153 PMC: 10131426. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-03979-y.

Nutritional and physical activity issues in frailty syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Massari M, Bimonte V, Falcioni L, Moretti A, Baldari C, Iolascon G Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2023; 15:1759720X231152648.

PMID: 36820002 PMC: 9929193. DOI: 10.1177/1759720X231152648.

Recognizing risk factors associated with poor outcomes among patients with COVID-19.

Rodriguez-Miguelez P, Heefner A, Carbone S Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2023; 76:3-11.

PMID: 36693489 PMC: 9862711. DOI: 10.1016/j.pcad.2023.01.006.

Prevalence and association of frailty with SARS-CoV-2 infection in older adults in Southern Switzerland-Findings from the Corona Immunitas Ticino Study.

Jiang M, Corna L, Amati R, Piumatti G, Franscella G, Crivelli L BMC Geriatr. 2023; 23(1):18.

PMID: 36631745 PMC: 9834033. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-03730-7.

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