The Prevalence and Factors That Impact Frailty in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Hospitalized in a Tertiary Hospital in China

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly increasing in China. Beyond disease management, frailty is an important predictor of adverse outcomes in IBD patients, which has not been well investigated. This study aimed to assess frailty status and explore the impact factors in IBD inpatients. Methods: A total of 372 IBD inpatients were recruited from July 2021 to November 2021 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. All the participants were surveyed by face-to-face questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, disease conditions, lifestyle, psychology, social support, and frailty. The impact factors of frailty were further assessed by multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: The participants' median age was 31.00 (Q1: 24.00, Q3: 40.00) years. The overall prevalence of prefrailty and frailty in IBD patients was 59.4% (n = 221) and 14% (n = 52), respectively, and was higher for frailty in females (17.2%) than in males (12.3%). Increased body mass index (odds ratio (OR) 0.917; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.860-0.978), increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (OR 1.039; 95% CI: 1.002-1.077), sleep impairment (OR 5.160; 95% CI: 2.394-11.119), and depression (OR 9.480; 95% CI: 3.602-24.949) were independently significantly correlated with prefrailty (p < 0.05). Increased body mass index (OR 0.744; 95% CI: 0.654-0.848), increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (OR 1.052; 95% CI: 1.011-1.096), sleep impairment (OR 5.832; 95% CI: 2.092-16.260), and depression (OR 10.041; 95% CI: 2.740-36.793) were independently significantly correlated with frailty. Among the factors, whether for frailty or prefrailty, the strongest impact factor was depression. Conclusions: IBD inpatients are prone to frailty. Comprehensive management focused on the prevention of frailty is warranted to improve the overall prognosis.