The prevalence of frailty according to kidney function and its association with cognitive impairment, nutritional status, and clinical outcome.

Background: Frailty is a state of vulnerability to poor homeostatic resolution of after a stressful event. The prevalence of frailty in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is more common than in the general population. Frailty is associated with a poor clinical prognosis, malnutrition, and cognitive impairment; however, studies on these factors in patients with CKD are lacking. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between CKD and frailty, nutritional status, and cognitive impairment and their influence on clinical outcomes.
Methods: We prospectively enrolled participants from June 2019 to December 2020 and divided them into three CKD groups according to kidney function (CKD G1-2, CKD G3-4, and CKD G5D). Clinical outcomes were defined as the composite outcomes of all-cause death, hospitalization, and cardiovascular outcomes, including nonfatal myocardial infarction, revascularization, or stroke. To calculate the relative risk of frailty, cognitive impairment, nutritional status, and clinical outcome, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using logistic regression analysis.
Result: A total of 83 patients were included, of whom 31.3% had frailty and 18.1% had cognitive impairment. In the CKD G5D group, the prevalence of frailty (56.7%, n = 17) was significantly higher, and the nutritional quotient score was lower in the other groups. The Korean-Montreal Cognitive Assessment score was significantly lower in the CKD G5D group; however, cognitive impairment did not differ among the three groups. Frailty was significantly associated with cognitive impairment and CKD G5D group. Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with older age and higher BMI. Well-nourished status was significantly associated with BMI and CKD G5D group. Patients in the CKD G5D group were significantly more likely to have adverse clinical outcomes.
Conclusions: The prevalence of frailty increased significantly as the CKD stage progressed. Particularly, CKD G5D group correlated with frailty and nutritional status, leading to poor clinical outcomes.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study involved human participants who gave informed consent to participate in the study before participation and all research procedures were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Gyeongsang National University Hospital (IRB No. 2019–03-014–001). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)