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. 2022 Sep 20;19(19):11897.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191911897.

Musculoskeletal Diseases Role in the Frailty Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Francesco Cattaneo  1 , Ilaria Buondonno  2 , Debora Cravero  2 , Francesca Sassi  2 , Patrizia D'Amelio  2   3
Affiliations

Musculoskeletal Diseases Role in the Frailty Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Francesco Cattaneo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Frailty syndrome severely burdens older age, and musculoskeletal diseases are of paramount importance in its development. The aim of this study is to unravel the contribution of musculoskeletal diseases to frailty syndrome. This is a case-control study, and we enrolled 55 robust community-dwelling age- and gender-matched patients, with 58 frail and pre-frail subjects. Frailty was diagnosed according to the Fried criteria (FP), and the Fragility Index (FI) was calculated. In all the subjects, a comprehensive geriatric assessment was carried out. Their nutritional status was evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment and Bioelectrical Impedance Analyses. Their bone density (BMD), bone turnover, muscle mass, strength and performance were evaluated. Here, we show that the prevalence of frailty varies according to the diagnostic criteria used and that FP and FI showed a moderate to good agreement. Despite age and gender matching, frail subjects had lower muscle strength, performance and BMD. Their quality of life and cognitive performance were reduced in the frail subjects compared to the robust ones. Muscular strength and performance, together with mood, significantly predicted the diagnosis of frailty, whereas BMD and bone turnover did not. In conclusion, we show that sarcopenia plays a pivotal role in predicting the diagnosis of frailty, whereas osteoporosis does not.

Keywords: bone; fractures; frailty; muscle; osteoporosis; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROC curves for the FP and FI. (A) The AUROC for the FI in diagnosing frailty compared to the FP. (B) The AUROC for the FI in diagnosing pre-frailty compared to the FP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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