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Relationship between Frailty Assessed Using the Kihon Checklist and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Takeshi Mochizuki1, Koichiro Yano2, Katsunori Ikari2
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rheumatology, Kamagaya General Hospital, Kamagaya, Japan.
Objectives:
This study investigated the relationship between frailty as assessed using the Kihon checklist (KCL) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) status.
Methods:
In total, 626 consecutive patients with RA were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. We examined the patients' KCL scores, characteristics, and clinical data. The patients were grouped according to their KCL scores as follows: robust (scores of 0-3), pre-frailty (scores of 4-7), and frailty (scores ≥8).
Results:
Frailty, pre-frailty, and robust groups accounted for 36.9%, 30.5%, and 32.6% of the patients, respectively. Significant factors comparing frailty and robust groups were age (P < 0.001), Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) (P < 0.001), and habitual exercise (P = 0.004). Significant factors comparing the pre-frailty and robust groups were age (P < 0.001) and HAQ-DI (P = 0.041).
Conclusions:
In patients with RA, HAQ-DI and exercise should be managed to prevent frailty and avoid the need for long-term care. Our results will help identify those patients who can most benefit from aggressive management of RA.
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