Investigation and Analysis of Frailty and Nutritional Status in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

To analyze the current status of frailty and the primary factors influencing frailty in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

We conducted a study using a fixed-point consecutive sampling method to investigate hospitalized patients with IBD aged 18 years or older in the Gastroenterology Department of a general hospital in Anhui, China, from July 2022 to July 2023. We also assessed the prevalence of frailty and malnutrition using the frailty phenotype scale (trial of fatigue, grip strength, physical activity, walking speed, and weight loss) and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria to analyze the factors influencing frailty.

A total of 300 patients with IBD were included. Of them, 21.67% were classified as frail, 46.67% were prefrail, 31.6% were nonfrail, 35% showed nutritional risk, and 33% were malnourished. The results of bivariate correlation analysis showed that frailty scores were correlated with age, white blood cell count, faecal calprotectin, and C-reactive protein levels and were negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin, albumin (ALB), and pre-albumin (PALB) levels (r = -0.35, -0.45, -0.55, -0.44, P <.01). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that BMI scores, nutritional status, disease state, and ALB levels were important factors influencing frailty (P <.05).

The patients with IBD were frail and prefrail, with a high prevalence of malnutrition. Lower BMI scores, a poor nutritional status, a worse disease state, and lower ALB levels were risk factors for frailty. A cyclical relationship was identified between frailty and malnutrition, with each condition exacerbating the other.