Scholars@Duke publication: Sex And Prognostic Significance of Self-Reported Frailty in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes: Insights From the TRILOGY ACS Trial.

Sex And Prognostic Significance of Self-Reported Frailty in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes: Insights From the TRILOGY ACS Trial.

Publication , Journal Article

Kaul, P; Alexander, KP; Ohman, EM; Savu, A; Roe, MT; Goodman, SG; Fox, KA; White, HD; Prabhakaran, D; Hochman, JS; Clemmensen, P; Armstrong, PW

Published in: Can J Cardiol

April 2019

Published version (DOI) Link to item

BACKGROUND: The effect of sex on self-reported frailty in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is unclear. We examined the prevalence of self-reported frailty and its association with all-cause death among men and women. METHODS: Elderly (≥ 65 years) male (n = 2691) and female (n = 2305) patients with ACS enrolled in the Targeted Platelet Inhibition to Clarify the Optimal Strategy to Medically Manage Acute Coronary Syndromes (TRILOGY ACS) trial were screened using the Fried Frailty Index. Sex differences in prevalence of frailty symptoms and categories (not frail; prefrail [1 to 2 symptoms]; and frail [≥ 3 symptoms]) and their prognostic importance were examined. RESULTS: Women were older and had higher rates of comorbidities than men. A total of 739 (27.5%) men and 645 (28%) women reported ≥ 1 frailty symptom. Prevalence of frailty increased with age among men but not women. During a median follow-up of 17.3 months, 353 (13.1%) men and 266 (11.5%) women died. After adjusting for age, prefrail men had a 35% increased risk (hazard ratio [HR] 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.71), and frail men had an 80% increased risk (HR 1.80; 95% CI, 1.22-2.67) of death relative to not-frail men. The age-adjusted HR for death in prefrail women was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.07-1.84), and 1.55 (95% CI, 0.96-2.49) in frail women relative to not-frail women. Self-reported slow walk time and decreased physical activity appeared to provide the most prognostic information. CONCLUSION: Self-reported frailty was similar among men and women with ACS. Frailty increased with age only among men, in whom it added more prognostic information. Patient-reported frailty may identify elderly patients with ACS, particularly men, at high-risk of mortality.