Factors associated with frailty in older adults hospitalized for cardiovascular disease: A multidimensional...

To identify the prevalence of frailty and analyze its associated factors in older adults hospitalized for cardiovascular disease.

Cross-sectional observational study conducted in 157 patients ≥60 years admitted to a cardiology unit between 2022 and 2024. Frailty was assessed using Fried's criteria. Clinical, functional (Barthel Index), social (Gijón scale) and analytical variables were collected. Multivariate analysis was performed and the area under the curve (AUC) of the predictive model and stratified analysis by sex were calculated.

28.66% of patients were frail and 52.23% were pre-frail. Frailty was independently associated with age (OR=1.12; 95%CI: 1.07-1.18; p < 0.001), dyspnea on admission (OR=2.73; 95%CI: 1.33-5.63; p = 0.005), functional dependence (Barthel, OR=0.91; 95%CI: 0.87-0.95; p < 0.001), social risk (OR=3.82; 95%CI: 1.24-11.74; p = 0.019), hemoglobin (OR=0.77; 95%CI: 0.65-0.92; p = 0.004) and obesity (BMI≥30; OR=2.41; 95%CI: 1.16-4.98; p = 0.018). Differences were identified in the clinical expression according to sex, highlighting the obesity and dyspnea in men, while in women the association with social risk stood out (OR=0.26; 95%CI: 0.15-0.40; p = 0.002). The multivariate model-age, Barthel Index, obesity, and ischemic heart disease-showed good discriminative ability to identify frail patients (AUC=0.82; 95%CI: 0.74-0.89; p < 0.001).

Frailty is highly prevalent in older patients hospitalized for cardiovascular disease and is associated with clinical, functional, and social factors. Sex differences highlight the need for comprehensive, individualized geriatric assessment from admission. Simple markers like hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, and functional dependence should be used in routine screening. These findings support the role of nurses in early detection and tailored care in cardiology settings.