Heart failure & cardiomyopathies
Nutritional Risk, Frailty and Functional Status in Elderly Heart Failure Patients
Authors' conclusion
Frailty was independently associated with increased LOHS in elderly HF patients. Poor nutritional status was significantly linked to reduced instrumental functional capacity. Routine frailty and nutritional screening may help identify patients who could benefit from early interventions aimed at improving functional outcomes and reducing hospitalization time.
Study context
- Population
- Elderly patients aged 60–91 years hospitalized for heart failure (HF)
- Participants
- 200 patients
- Exposure
- Associations between nutritional risk, functional capacity, frailty and length of hospital stay (LOHS)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Frailty present
65%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Mean LOHS · longer in frail
P = 0.016
Increased LOHS, multivariable logistic regression
| Comparison | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frailty · frailty independently predicted increased LOHS · multivariable | 4.063 (1.36–12.1) | P = 0.012 | |
| 0.050.21520Odds ratio (log scale) |
Malnourished or at nutritional risk
- Malnourished or at nutritional risk
- 36.5%
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scores by nutritional status
- Well-nourished patients had significantly higher IADL scores
- P = 0.002
BMI, central obesity and comorbidity burden vs functional status or LOHS
- Not associated with functional status or LOHS
Original publication
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it