TheBodyPro: Expert analysis from Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Frailty is an extremely common condition among people with HIV, even those who are younger — and those with frailty symptoms face significantly increased odds of all-cause mortality, according to new data from a large US study. While we’ve long understood the health risks associated with frailty, these findings help certify just how important it is that HIV clinicians get a head start in screening for, and then promptly addressing, frailty in their patients.
Investigators analyzed data on frailty and all-cause mortality from the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) cohort.
The analysis is convincing: It shows us that frailty is not just correlated with worse wellness as a general concept, but is also independently associated with a 2.5-to-3-fold increase in mortality, even after adjusting for HIV markers and other comorbidities.
Importantly, it also provides granular data on prefrailty and frailty. Prefrailty was common (about half of the cohort) and not benign: It carried a meaningful increase in mortality risk. Thus, this study teaches us that assessing frailty isn’t just about identifying older people who are already in trouble; it’s about recognizing a large cohort with upstream risk that we may be under-addressing in the clinic.
Read the full analysis here.
Source : TheBodyPro
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