Study on the correlation between frailty and cognitive impairment in elderly patients

Wang Juan; An Lijun; Guo Yan

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-3245.2025.04.012

Abstract：Objective To analyze the correlation between frailty and mild cognitive impairment in hospitalized elderly patients.Methods 283 hospitalized patients in the geriatric department from February 2022 to October 2024 were included.Using the frailty phenotype to evaluate the degree of frailty,patients were divided into three groups:non-frailty group,pre-frailty group,and frailty group.Compare the general information and occurrence of cognitive impairment among three groups,and analyze the correlation between the total score of frailty and various indicators and cognitive impairment.Cognitive impairment is assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale(MoCA).Results There were statistically significant differences in age and educational level among the three groups.The incidence of mild cognitive impairment(MCI)and dementia in the non-frailty group,pre frailty group,and frailty group was 15.52％,34.42％,52.11％,0.0％,1.29％,11.27％,and the MoCA score was(26.74±3.4),(24.89±4.3),(22.03±5.3).The MoCA scores of the three groups gradually decreased,and the incidence of MCI and dementia in the frailty group and pre-frailty group was higher than that in the non-frailty group.The incidence of MCI and dementia in the frailty group was higher than that in the pre-frailty group.Except for the dementia rate difference between the pre-frailty group and the non-frailty group,which was not statistically significant,the incidence rates between the other groups were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The correlation analysis shows that the total score of frailty is negatively correlated with the total score of MoCA(r=-0.647,P＜0.05).Walking speed has the highest correlation with the total MoCA score,with a correlation coefficient of-0.486,followed by grip strength,with a correlation coefficient of-0.417.Conclusion Cognitive dysfunction in the elderly is closely related to frailty.It is necessary to strengthen frailty management and develop targeted training plans for leg and upper limb strength,which may help delay and alleviate cognitive impairment in the elderly.