Preoperative frailty based on laboratory data and postoperative health outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Social determinants of health and emergency department visits among older adults with multimorbidity: insight from 2010 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey

BACKGROUND

Multimorbidity is prevalent among older adults and is associated with adverse health outcomes, including high emergency department (ED) utilization. Social determinants of health (SDoH) are associated with many health outcomes, but the association between SDoH and ED visits among older adults with multimorbidity has received limited attention. This study aimed to examine the association between SDoH and ED visits among older adults with multimorbidity.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 28,917 adults aged 50 years and older from the 2010 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more self-reported diseases among 10 common chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, stroke, cancer, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart, kidney, and liver diseases. The SDoH assessed included race/ethnicity, education level, poverty income ratio, marital status, employment status, insurance status, region of residence, and having a usual place for medical care. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between SDoH and one or more ED visits.

RESULTS

Participants' mean (± SD) age was 68.04 (± 10.66) years, and 56.82% were female. After adjusting for age, sex, and the number of chronic conditions in the logistic regression model, high school or less education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.19), poverty income ratio below the federal poverty level (AOR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.31-1.59), unmarried (AOR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.11-1.28), unemployed status (AOR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.23-1.44), and having a usual place for medical care (AOR: 1.46, 95% CI 1.18-1.80) was significantly associated with having one or more ED visits. Non-Hispanic Black individuals had higher odds (AOR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.19-1.38), while non-Hispanic Asian individuals had lower odds (AOR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86) of one or more ED visits than non-Hispanic White individuals.

CONCLUSION

SDoH factors are associated with ED visits among older adults with multimorbidity. Systematic multidisciplinary team approaches are needed to address social disparities affecting not only multimorbidity prevalence but also health-seeking behaviors and emergent healthcare access.

Frailty efficacy as a predictor of clinical and cognitive complications in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Frailty is proposed as a predictor of outcomes in patients undergoing major surgeries, although data on the association of frailty and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are lacking. We assessed the association between frailty and cognitive and clinical complications following CABG.

METHODS

This prospective study included patients aged over 60 years undergoing elective CABG at Tehran Heart Center from 2020 to 2022. Baseline and three-month follow-up data on frailty using the Frail scale and clinical Frail scale, functional status using the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), cognitive function by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and depression by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were obtained. The incidence of adverse outcomes was investigated at the three-month follow-up. Outcomes between frail and non-frail groups were compared utilizing T-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests, as appropriate.

RESULTS

We included 170 patients with a median age of 66 ± 4 years (75.3% male). Of these, 58 cases were classified as frail, and 112 individuals were non-frail, preoperatively. Frail patients demonstrated significantly worse baseline MOCA scores (21.08 vs. 22.41, P = 0.045), GDS (2.00 vs. 1.00, P = 0.009), and Lawton IADL (8.00 vs. 6.00, P < 0.001) compared to non-frail. According to 3-month follow-up data, postoperative MOCA and GDS scores were comparable between the two groups, while Lawton IADL (8.00 vs. 6.00, P < 0.001) was significantly lower in frail cases. A significantly higher rate of readmission (1.8% vs. 12.1%), sepsis (7.1% vs. 19.0%), as well as a higher Euroscore (1.5 vs. 1.9), was observed in the frail group. A mildly significantly more extended ICU stay (6.00 vs. 5.00, p = 0.051) was shown in the frail patient.

CONCLUSION

Frailty showed a significant association with a worse preoperative independence level, cognitive function, and depression status, as well as increased postoperative complications.

The frailty index based on laboratory test data as a tool to investigate the impact of frailty on health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The frailty index (FI) quantifies frailty as deficit accumulation. It has been adapted to employ laboratory test data (FI-Lab). Our objective was to systematically review and meta-analyse the FI-Lab's ability to predict mortality. Secondary objectives were to review the FI-Lab's association with adverse health outcomes and whether FI-Lab scores differed between the sexes. A systematic literature search was carried out using six online databases to identify studies that measured the FI-Lab in humans. Hazard ratios (HRs) were combined in a meta-analysis to create a pooled risk estimate for mortality. Of the 1,201 papers identified, spanning January 2010 until 11 July 2022, 38 were included. FI-Lab scores per 0.01 unit increase predicted mortality overall (HR = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-1.05) and for studies with a mean age of 81+ years (HR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.03-1.05). The quality of evidence for these meta-analyses are moderate and high, respectively. Further, higher FI-Lab scores were associated with more frequent adverse health outcomes. Sex differences in FI-Lab scores varied, with no consistent indication of a sex effect. The FI-Lab is associated with mortality and with a variety of adverse health outcomes. No consistent sex differences in FI-Lab scores were observed, with several studies in disagreement. Notably, these conclusions were most relevant to older (65+ years old) individuals; further evidence in younger people is needed in both clinical and population representative studies.

Frailty index based on laboratory tests improves prediction of short-and long-term mortality in patients with critical acute myocardial infarction

Background

Previous studies have shown that the frailty index based on laboratory tests (FI-Lab) can identify older adults at increased risk of adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to determine whether the FI-Lab is associated with mortality risk and can provide incremental improvements in risk stratification of patients with critical acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Materials and methods

We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database. A 33-item FI-Lab was constructed. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between the FI-Lab and outcomes. For the assessment of the incremental predictive value, the FI-Lab was added to several risk stratification scoring systems for critically ill patients, and the following indices were calculated: Δ C-statistic, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and net reclassification improvement (NRI).

Results

Out of 2,159 patients, 477 died in hospital (22.1%), and 898 died during the 1-year follow-up period. After adjustment for confounders, the FI-Lab was associated with increased in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.07] and 1-year mortality (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.04-1.06) when assessed as a continuous variable (per 0.01-score increase). When assessed as a categorical variable, the FI-Lab was associated with in-hospital mortality (2nd Quartile: OR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.18-3.03; 3rd Quartile: OR = 3.46, 95% CI: 2.20-5.46; and 4th Quartile: OR = 5.79, 95% CI: 3.61-9.28 compared to 1st Quartile) as well as 1-year mortality (2nd Quartile: OR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.23-2.24; 3rd Quartile: OR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.76-3.26; and 4th Quartile: OR = 3.76, 95% CI: 2.66-5.30 compared to 1st Quartile) after adjustment for confounders. The addition of the FI-Lab to all disease severity scores improved discrimination and significantly reclassified in-hospital and 1-year mortality risk.

Conclusion

The FI-Lab was a strong predictor of short- and long-term mortality in patients with critical AMI. The FI-Lab improved the ability to predict mortality in patients with critical AMI and therefore might be useful in the clinical decision-making process.