Associating Frailty and Dynamic Dysregulation between Motor and Cardiac Autonomic Systems

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome associated with the lack of physiological reserve and consequent adverse outcomes (therapy complications and death) in older adults. Recent research has shown associations between heart rate (HR) dynamics (HR changes during physical activity) with frailty. The goal of the present study was to determine the effect of frailty on the interconnection between motor and cardiac systems during a localized upper-extremity function (UEF) test. Fifty-six older adults aged 65 or older were recruited and performed the UEF task of rapid elbow flexion for 20-seconds with the right arm. Frailty was assessed using the Fried phenotype. Wearable gyroscopes and electrocardiography were used to measure motor function and HR dynamics. Using convergent cross-mapping (CCM) the interconnection between motor (angular displacement) and cardiac (HR) performance was assessed. A significantly weaker interconnection was observed among pre-frail and frail participants compared to non-frail individuals (p<0.01, effect size=0.81±0.08). Using logistic models pre-frailty and frailty were identified with sensitivity and specificity of 82% to 89%, using motor, HR dynamics, and interconnection parameters. Findings suggested a strong association between cardiac-motor interconnection and frailty. Adding CCM parameters in a multimodal model may provide a promising measure of frailty.