Risk factors of preoperative frailty in elderly inpatients with gastrointestinal cancer

Abstract Background Frailty is emerging as an important determinant for health, while researches in the field of frailty start at a later stage in China and mainly focuses on community elderly dwellers. Little is known about frailty in cancer patients in China, nor the risk factors of frailty. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of frailty and its risk factors in elderly inpatients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed at a tertiary hospital in China from Mar. 2020 to Nov. 2020. The study enrolled 265 inpatients aged 60 and older with gastrointestinal cancer who successfully underwent surgery. The demographic and clinical characteristics, biochemical laboratory parameters, and anthropometric data were collected from all patients. The Groningen Frailty Indicator was applied to assess patients’ frailty status. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis was carried out to identify risk factors of frailty and estimate their 95% confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of frailty in elderly inpatients with gastrointestinal cancer was 43.8%. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age (OR = 1.065, 95% CI: 1.001–1.132, P = 0.045), low handgrip strength (OR = 4.346, 95% CI: 1.739–10.863, P = 0.002), no regular exercise habit (OR = 3.228, 95% CI: 1.230–8.469, P = 0.017), and low MNA-SF score (OR = 11.090, 95% CI: 5.119–24.024, P < 0.001) were risk factors of frailty. Conclusions This study suggested that the prevalence of frailty was high among elderly inpatients with gastrointestinal cancer. Older age, low handgrip strength, no regular exercise habit, and low MNA-SF score were risk factors of frailty.