Prevalence, measurement, and implications of frailty in stroke survivors: An analysis of three global aging cohorts

Background: Our understanding of the relationship between frailty and stroke, beyond the acute phase of stroke, is limited. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of frailty in stroke survivors using differing methods of assessment and describe relationships with stroke outcomes. Methods: We used data from three international population surveys (American Health and Retirement Survey/English Longitudinal Study of Ageing/Survey for Health and Retirement in Europe) of aging. Frailty status was assessed using the Fried frailty phenotype, a 40-item frailty index (FI) and the clinical frailty scale (CFS). We created estimates of frailty prevalence and assessed association of frailty with outcomes of mortality/hospital admission/recurrent stroke at 2 years follow-up using logistic regression models adjusted for age/sex. Additional analyses explored effects of adding cognitive measures to frailty assessments and of missing grip strength data. Findings: Across 9617 stroke survivors, using the frailty phenotype, 23.8% (n = 2094) identified as frail; with CFS, 30.1% (n = 2906) were moderately or severely frail; using FI, 22.7% (n = 2147) had moderate frailty and 31.9% (n = 3021) had severe frailty. Frailty was associated with increased risk of mortality/hospitalization/recurrent stroke using all three measures. Adding cognitive variables to the FI produced minimal difference in prevalence of frailty. People with physical frailty (phenotype or CFS) plus cognitive impairment had a greater risk of mortality than people with an equivalent level of frailty but no cognitive impairment. Excluding people unable to provide grip strength underestimated frailty prevalence. Interpretation: Frailty is common in stroke and associated with poor outcomes, regardless of measure used. Adding cognitive variables to frailty phenotype/CFS measures identified those at greater risk of poor outcomes. Physical and cognitive impairments in stroke survivors do not preclude frailty assessment.

Automated summary

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of frailty in stroke survivors and investigate its association with stroke outcomes. Regardless of the assessment method used, frailty was found to be associated with increased risk of mortality, hospitalization, and recurrent stroke. Adding cognitive variables to frailty assessments helped identify individuals at greater risk. Thus, physical and cognitive impairments should not prevent frailty assessment in stroke survivors.