Significance of Frailty among Dialysis Patients

The construct of frailty has been associated with adverse outcomes among elderly individuals, but the prevalence and significance of frailty among patients with end-stage renal disease have not been established. The aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of frailty among a cohort of incident dialysis patients and to determine the degree to which frailty was associated with death and hospitalization. We studied a cohort of 2275 adults who participated in the Dialysis Morbidity and Mortality Wave 2 study, of whom two-thirds met our definition of frailty: a composite construct that incorporated poor self-reported physical functioning, exhaustion/fatigue, low physical activity, and…

• WH
  World Health Organization
• NI
  National Institutes of Health