Sex Differences in the Impact of Physical Frailty on Outcomes in Heart Failure

Background: Physical frailty is strongly related to adverse outcomes in heart failure (HF), and women are more likely to be physically frail than men; however, it is unknown if this sex difference affects outcomes.

Objectives: To determine if there are sex differences in the associations between physical frailty and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and clinical outcomes in HF.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study of adults with HF. Physical frailty was assessed using the Frailty Phenotype Criteria. HRQOL was assessed using the Minnesota Living with HF Questionnaire. One-year clinical events (all-cause death or cardiovascular hospitalization or emergency department visit) were ascertained. We used generalized linear modeling to quantify associations between physical frailty and HRQOL, and Cox proportional hazards modeling to quantify associations between physical frailty and clinical events, adjusting for Seattle HF Model scores.

Results: The sample (n = 115) was 63.5 ± 15.7 years old and 49% women. Physical frailty was associated with significantly worse total HRQOL among women (p = 0.005) but not men (p = 0.141). Physical frailty was associated with worse physical HRQOL among both women (p < 0.001) and men (p = 0.043). There was a 46% higher clinical event risk for every one-point increase in physical frailty score among men (p = 0.047) but not women (p = 0.361).

Conclusions: Physical frailty is associated with worse overall HRQOL among women and higher clinical event risk among men, indicating a need to better understand contributors to sex-specific health differences associated with physical frailty in HF.