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Observational Study
. 2020 Sep 23;21(1):411.
doi: 10.1186/s12882-020-02063-6.

Symptom-burden in people living with frailty and chronic kidney disease

A C Nixon  1   2   3 , T J Wilkinson  4   5 , H M L Young  6 , M W Taal  7   8 , N Pendleton  9 , S Mitra  10   11 , M E Brady  12 , A P Dhaygude  12 , A C Smith  4   5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Symptom-burden in people living with frailty and chronic kidney disease

A C Nixon et al. BMC Nephrol. .

Abstract

Background: Frailty is independently associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the relationship between frailty and symptom experience is not well described in people living with CKD. This study's aim was to evaluate the relationship between frailty and symptom-burden in CKD.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional observational study, the QCKD study (ISRCTN87066351), in which participants completed physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, symptom-burden and HRQOL questionnaires. A modified version of the Frailty Phenotype, comprising 3 self-report components, was created to assess frailty status. Multiple linear regression was performed to assess the association between symptom-burden/HRQOL and frailty. Logistic regression was performed to assess the association between experiencing symptoms frequently and frailty. Principal Component Analysis was used to assess the experienced symptom clusters.

Results: A total of 353 patients with CKD were recruited with 225 (64%) participants categorised as frail. Frail participants reported more symptoms, had higher symptom scores and worse HRQOL scores. Frailty was independently associated with higher total symptom score and lower HRQOL scores. Frailty was also independently associated with higher odds of frequently experiencing 9 out of 12 reported symptoms. Finally, frail participants experienced an additional symptom cluster that included loss of appetite, tiredness, feeling cold and poor concentration.

Conclusions: Frailty is independently associated with high symptom-burden and poor HRQOL in CKD. Moreover, people living with frailty and CKD have a distinctive symptom experience. Proactive interventions are needed that can effectively identify and address problematic symptoms to mitigate their impact on HRQOL.

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Elderly; Frailty; Geriatric nephrology; Quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Unrelated to this body of work, APD has received lecture fees from speaking at the invitation of MSD and received travel support from Pharmacosmos. ACN reports a grant from Kidney Research UK during the conduct of this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overlap of Modified Frailty Phenotype Components for Participants Categorised as Frail
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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