Frailty in people with COPD, using the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey dataset (2003-2006)

Background: Little is known about frailty in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purposes of this study were to describe frailty, to identify, which demographic and clinical characteristics contributed to frailty, and to examine the relationship between frailty and health-related outcomes in people with COPD. Methods: This was a secondary cross-sectional study, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey. The frailty index and outcome measures were derived primarily from survey responses. Results: The prevalence of frailty was 57.8%. Multivariate logistic regression showed that individuals with COPD who had self-reported shortness of breath and comorbid diabetes were more likely to be frail than those who did not. Frail people tended to have a greater number of disabilities. Conclusions: The findings support the importance of frailty in the COPD population. Further study is needed to understand frailty in people with COPD, using objective measures for criteria of frailty.