Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 11;57(5):474.
doi: 10.3390/medicina57050474.

Frailty, a Dimension of Impaired Functional Status in Advanced COPD: Utility and Clinical Applicability

Sabina Antonela Antoniu  1 , Lucian Vasile Boiculese  1 , Virgiliu Prunoiu  2
Affiliations
Review

Frailty, a Dimension of Impaired Functional Status in Advanced COPD: Utility and Clinical Applicability

Sabina Antonela Antoniu et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), functional status is significantly impaired mainly as a result of disease related respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea or as a result of fatigue, which is the extra-respiratory symptom the most prevalent in this setting. "Physical" frailty, considered to be an aging phenotype, has defining traits that can also be considered when studying impaired functional status, but little is known about this relationship in advanced COPD. This review discusses the relevance of this type of frailty in advanced COPD and evaluates it utility and its clinical applicability as a potential outcome measure in palliative care for COPD. Materials and Methods: A conceptual review on the functional status as an outcome measure of mortality and morbidity in COPD, and an update on the definition and traits of frailty. Results: Data on the prognostic role of frailty in COPD are rather limited, but individual data on traits of frailty demonstrating their relationship with mortality and morbidity in advanced COPD are available and supportive. Conclusions: Frailty assessment in COPD patients is becoming a relevant issue not only for its potential prognostic value for increased morbidity or for mortality, but also for its potential role as a measure of functional status in palliative care for advanced COPD.

Keywords: aging-COPD-frequent exacerbators; functional status; mortality; physical frailty phenotype; prognosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Fried L.P., Tangen C.M., Walston J., Newman A.B., Hirsch C., Gottdiener J., Seeman T., Tracy R., Kop W.J., Burke G., et al. Frailty in Older Adults: Evidence for a Phenotype. J. Gerontol. Ser. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2001;56:M146–M156. doi: 10.1093/gerona/56.3.M146. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Katz S., Ford A.B., Moskowitz R.W., Jackson B.A., Jaffe M.W. Studies of Illness in the Aged: The Index of ADL: A Standardized Measure of Biological and Psychosocial Function. JAMA. 1963;185:914–919. doi: 10.1001/jama.1963.03060120024016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amblàs-Novellas J., Murray S.A., Espaulella J., Martori J.C., Oller R., Martínez-Muñoz M., Molist N., Blay C., Batiste X.G. Identifying patients with advanced chronic conditions for a progressive palliative care approach: A cross-sectional study of prognostic indicators related to end-of-life trajectories. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e012340. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012340. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liu Y., Li H., Ding N., Wang N., Wen D. Functional Status Assessment of Patients with COPD: A Systematic Review of Performance-Based Measures and Patient-Reported Measures. Medicine. 2016;95:e3672. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003672. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kentson M., Tödt K., Skargren E., Jakobsson P., Ernerudh J., Unosson M., Theander K. Factors associated with experience of fatigue, and functional limitations due to fatigue in patients with stable COPD. Ther. Adv. Respir. Dis. 2016;10:410–424. doi: 10.1177/1753465816661930. - DOI - PMC - PubMed