Preoperative frailty is a severely unhealthy status that reflects the reduction of overall physiological reserve, which is highly prevalent in elderly patients with gastric cancer. Understanding the perceived influencing factors of preoperative frailty can provide an important basis for developing individualized intervention plans.
To perform a qualitative descriptive study to identity the perceived influencing factors of preoperative frailty among elderly gastric cancer patients using the theory of health ecology.
A qualitative descriptive study was conducted based on health ecology theory. Purposive sampling method was used to select 29 frail elderly patients who would undergo gastric cancer surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University from February to June 2021 for semi-structured interview. Directed content analysis was used for data analysis.
Five themes and thirteen sub-themes were extracted: physiological traits, including accumulated aging-related losses, obvious gastrointestinal symptoms, and successive attacks of multiple diseases; behavioral characteristics, including lack of exercise behavior and overexertion; interpersonal networks, including insufficient peer social interaction, lack of parent-child interaction, and lack of communication and self-disclosure between couples; living and working conditions, including heavy individual financial burden, heavy unplanned family care tasks, insufficient information resources for health and disease management; macro factors, including limited medical services and medical insurance support.
This study described the effects of different perceived factors on preoperative frailty among elderly gastric cancer patients from the perspective of health ecology. Medical workers should formulate and implement systematic prehabilitation programs based on the above factors to improve the patients' preoperative anti-stress capacity and postoperative outcomes.
Due to great differences in physiological reserve, psychological status and social functioning, frailty in elderly patients with gastric cancer may present various subtypes. The relationship between preoperative frailty and postoperative adverse outcomes in them still remains to be further explored.
To explore the relationship between preoperative frailty subtypes and postoperative adverse outcomes〔total complications, prolonged length of stay (PLOS), low quality of life (QOL), and disability〕among elderly patients with gastric cancer.
From March to October 2021, 404 elderly gastric cancer patients were selected from Department of Gastric Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University by convenience sampling. The General Demographic Data Questionnaire and Tilburg Frailty Indicator were used to collect demographics and frailty status before surgery. Total complications and PLOS were collected from the electronic medical records, and the status of disability and QOL were obtained using a telephone follow-up at one month after discharge. Univariate Logistic regression was performed to explore the influencing factors of postoperative adverse outcomes. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the association of preoperative frailty subtypes with postoperative adverse outcomes, with potential confounders adjusted.
Two hundred and eighty-five cases were found with preoperative frailty, and the frailty subtypes in them were classified into eight classes: exclusive physical frailty〔77 (19.1%) 〕, exclusive psychological frailty〔78 (19.3%) 〕, exclusive social frailty〔23 (5.7%) 〕, physical and psychological frailty〔63 (15.6%) 〕, physical and social frailty〔13 (3.2%) 〕, psychological and social frailty〔16 (4.0%) 〕, multidimensional frailty (physical, psychological, and social frailty) 〔15 (3.7%) 〕. The other 119 (29.5%) cases had no preoperative frailty. In the univariate Logistic regression, age was the factor influencing total complications〔OR=1.063, 95%CI (1.021, 1.106), P=0.003〕. History of pharmacological treatment〔OR=1.549, 95%CI (1.016, 2.362), P=0.042〕and surgical approach〔OR=2.103, 95%CI (1.191, 3.712), P=0.010〕were the factors influencing PLOS. Marital status〔OR=4.611, 95%CI (1.079, 19.706), P=0.039〕, living in an urban area〔OR=1.614, 95%CI (1.009, 2.582), P=0.046〕, having at least two comorbidities〔OR=1.694, 95%CI (1.038, 2.766), P=0.035〕were the factors influencing postoperative low QOL. Living in an urban area〔OR=0.601, 95%CI (0.390, 0.926), P=0.021〕, history of pharmacological treatment〔OR=1.663, 95%CI (1.082, 2.558), P=0.020〕, and advanced TNM stages〔OR=1.659, 95%CI (1.017, 2.706), P=0.043〕were the factors influencing postoperative disability. In the multivariate Logistic regression, the preoperative multidimensional frailty was independently associated with total complications, with age adjusted〔OR=5.344, 95%CI (1.715, 16.656), P=0.004〕. The preoperative physical frailty〔OR=2.048, 95%CI (1.078, 3.891), P=0.029〕, preoperative psychological frailty〔OR=2.077, 95%CI (1.103, 3.913), P=0.024〕and preoperative multidimensional frailty〔OR=8.321, 95%CI (2.400, 28.848), P<0.001〕were independently associated with PLOS, with history of pharmacological treatment and surgical approach adjusted. Preoperative psychological frailty〔OR=2.620, 95%CI (1.267, 5.418), P=0.009〕, preoperative psychological and social frailty〔OR=11.122, 95%CI (3.253, 38.028), P<0.001〕and preoperative multidimensional frailty〔OR=11.579, 95%CI (2.835, 47.302), P<0.001〕were independently associated with postoperative low QOL, with marital status, living in an urban area, and having at least two comorbidities adjusted.
Medical professionals should pay attention to preoperative frailty prevalence in elderly gastric cancer patients, and assess preoperative frailty in these patients using tools with the multidimensional frailty scale included, and attach great importance to those with exclusive physical frailty, exclusive psychological frailty, psychological and social frailty, and multidimensional frailty before surgery. A targeted prerehabilitation intervention program can be delivered to those with preoperative frailty according to their subtypes of frailty to improve postoperative adverse outcomes and QOL.
Frailty is common in cancer patients, which seriously affects their prognosis. However, the factors associated with frailty in cancer patients are not clear at present.
To identify the factors associated with frailty in cancer patients by a meta-analysis, to provide a scientific basis for the development and implementation of related interventions.
The databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), CQVIP, WanFang Data, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Embase were comprehensively and systematically searched from inception to August 2022 for included cross-sectional studies, cohort studies or case-control studies reporting associated factors of frailty in cancer patients. Two researchers screened the literature and performed quality evaluation and data extraction. Stata 17.0 and RevMan 5.4 were used for meta-analysis.
Eleven studies were included, among which nine were cross-sectional studies and the other two were cohort studies. Altogether, 2 898 cancer patients were studied, among whom 1 025 were frail, and 12 associated factors of frailty were reported. Meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of frailty in all cancer patients, lung cancer patients, digestive cancer patients, and other cancer patients was 34%〔95%CI (23%, 45%) 〕, 31%〔95%CI (25%, 36%) 〕, 42%〔95%CI (26%, 59%) 〕, and 12%〔95%CI (9%, 16%) 〕, respectively. The risk of frailty in cancer rose with advanced age〔OR=1.16, 95%CI (1.05, 1.27) 〕, combined with other diseases〔OR=1.46, 95%CI (1.28, 1.67) 〕, high BMI〔OR=1.13, 95%CI (1.05, 1.21) 〕, poor nutritional status〔OR=2.77, 95%CI (1.27, 6.06) 〕, high syndrome group scores〔OR=1.07, 95%CI (1.04, 1.09) 〕and depression〔OR=1.27, 95%CI (1.12, 1.44) 〕, but decreased with high education level〔OR=0.78, 95%CI (0.68, 0.90) 〕, albumin level≥35 g/L〔OR=0.33, 95%CI (0.12, 0.90) 〕and high level of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) 〔OR=0.50, 95%CI (0.42, 0.59) 〕. Egger's test assessing the potential publication bias in 11 studies via funnel plot asymmetry showed that there was a certain publication bias (t=-4.12, P=0.003) .
This meta-analysis revealed that age, education level, comorbidity, BMI, albumin, nutritional status, syndrome group, depression and IADL were the associated factors of frailty in cancer patients. It is necessary for health professionals to pay more attention to cancer patients with advanced age, low education level, combined with other diseases, high BMI, albumin level <35 g/L, poor nutritional status, with syndrome group, depression or low-level activities of daily living, so as to prevent the occurrence of frailty.
