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
. 2022 Mar;75(3):600-609.
doi: 10.1002/hep.32157. Epub 2021 Dec 5.

Frailty is associated with increased risk of cirrhosis disease progression and death

Sarah Wang  1 , Reid Whitlock  2 , Chelsea Xu  3 , Sunil Taneja  4 , Surender Singh  4 , Juan G Abraldes  1 , Kelly W Burak  5 , Robert J Bailey  6 , Jennifer C Lai  7 , Puneeta Tandon  1
Affiliations

Frailty is associated with increased risk of cirrhosis disease progression and death

Sarah Wang et al. Hepatology. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Background and aims: The Liver Frailty Index (LFI) is a well-studied tool that evaluates frailty in patients with cirrhosis. Consisting of grip strength, chair stands, and balance testing, the LFI has been associated with increased mortality in patients awaiting liver transplant. We aimed to extend our understanding of frailty in cirrhosis by exploring the relationship between the LFI and the risk of (1) cirrhosis progression, (2) mortality, and (3) unplanned hospitalizations, in both compensated and decompensated disease.

Approach and results: Adult patients with cirrhosis from four centers in North America and one in India were included. Frailty was measured at baseline using the LFI and categorized as robust (LFI < 3.2), prefrail (LFI 3.2-4.5), and frail (LFI > 4.5). Progression of cirrhosis was defined by an increase in clinical stage, ranging from 1 to 5, from baseline using the D'Amico classification. Factors associated with progression, mortality, and hospitalizations were evaluated using multivariate regression models, with transplant as a competing risk. In total, 822 patients with cirrhosis were included. Average Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was 15.5 ± 6.0. In patients with compensated cirrhosis, being frail versus robust was associated with increased risk of progression to the next cirrhosis stage or to death (HR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.14-5.29) and with an increased risk of unplanned hospitalizations (2.32; 95% CI, 1.13-4.79), after adjusting for age, sex, and MELD score. Similar HRs were observed in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Conclusions: Frailty was an independent predictor of cirrhosis progression or death and unplanned hospitalization across patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis. Future studies are needed to evaluate the possibility of slowing cirrhosis disease progression by reversing or preventing frailty.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Xue Q-L. The frailty syndrome: definition and natural history. Clin Geriatr Med. 2011;27:1-15.
    1. Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, Newman AB, Hirsch C, Gottdiener J, et al. Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001;56:M146-56.
    1. Lai JC, Sonnenday CJ, Tapper EB, Duarte-Rojo A, Dunn MA, Bernal W, et al. Frailty in liver transplantation: an expert opinion statement from the American Society of Transplantation Liver and Intestinal Community of Practice. Am J Transplant. 2019;19:1896-906.
    1. Lai JC, Covinsky KE, Dodge JL, Boscardin WJ, Segev DL, Roberts JP, et al. Development of a novel frailty index to predict mortality in patients with end-stage liver disease. Hepatology. 2017;66:564-74.
    1. Lai JC, Rahimi RS, Verna EC, Kappus MR, Dunn MA, McAdams-DeMarco M, et al. Frailty associated with waitlist mortality independent of ascites and hepatic encephalopathy in a multicenter study. Gastroenterology. 2019;156:1675-82.

MeSH terms