The Association Between Race and Frailty in Older Adults Presenting to a Nononcologic Urology Practice

To explore whether there is an association between nonwhite race and frailty among older adults presenting to an academic nononcologic urology practice.

This is a prospective study of individuals ages ≥65years presenting to a nononcologic urology practice between December 2015 and November 2016. All individuals had a Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT, where a slower TUGT time of ≥15 seconds is suggestive of frailty. TUGT times, race (white vs nonwhite), and other clinical data were extracted from the electronic medical record using direct queries. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the association between race and slower TUGT times while adjusting for age, gender, number of medications, body mass index, and number of urologic diagnoses.

Among the 1715 individuals in our cohort, 33.9% were of nonwhite race and 15.3% had TUGT ≥15 seconds. A higher percentage of nonwhite individuals had TUGT times ≥15 seconds compared to white individuals (23.6% vs 11.1%, P <.01). TUGT times ≥15 seconds were significantly associated with nonwhite race after adjusting for clinical factors (adjusted odds ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.8-3.3).

Among older adults presenting to an academic nononcologic urology practice, nonwhite race was associated with increased odds of frailty. A greater understanding of the relationship between race and frailty is needed to better address the needs of this vulnerable population.