Frailty but not sarcopenia nor malnutrition increases the risk of developing COVID-19 in older community-dwelling adults
Lengelé et al.,
Frailty but not sarcopenia nor malnutrition increases the risk of developing COVID-19 in older..,
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, doi:10.1007/s40520-021-01991-z
Analysis of 241 adults >65yo in Belgium, showing lower risk of COVID-19 with a history of physical activity.
risk of case, 73.6% lower, RR 0.26, p = 0.03, high activity levels 23 of 229 (10.0%), low activity levels 4 of 12 (33.3%), NNT 4.3, inverted to make RR<1 favor high activity levels, odds ratio converted to relative risk.
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Lengelé et al., 23 Oct 2021, prospective, Belgium, peer-reviewed, median age 75.6, 8 authors, study period March 2020 - April 2021.
Contact:
llengele@uliege.be.
Abstract: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research (2022) 34:223–234
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-021-01991-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Frailty but not sarcopenia nor malnutrition increases the risk
of developing COVID‑19 in older community‑dwelling adults
Laetitia Lengelé1 · Médéa Locquet1 · Michel Moutschen2 · Charlotte Beaudart1,3 · Jean‑François Kaux3,4 ·
Sophie Gillain5 · Jean‑Yves Reginster1 · Olivier Bruyère1,3,4
Received: 16 July 2021 / Accepted: 25 September 2021 / Published online: 23 October 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Abstract
Background The identification of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk factors is requested to implement prevention
strategies.
Aim To explore the associations between the COVID-19 incidence and malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty, identified as
potential risk factors in previous cross-sectional studies.
Methods Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty were assessed at the last available follow-up from the Sarcopenia and Physical Impairments with Advancing Age (SarcoPhAge) cohort (i.e., the fifth year that ended in 2019) according to the MiniNutritional Assessment short-form, the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), and the Fried
criteria, respectively. Information regarding the COVID-19 was gathered by phone calls interviews in April 2021 to measure
its self-declared incidence. Adjusted Cox regressions and Kaplan–Meier curves were performed.
Results The present study included 241 participants [median age 75.6 (73.0–80.6) years, 63.1% women]. Among them, 27
participants (11.2%) developed the non-fatal Covid-19. No significant increased risks of COVID-19 were observed in patients
with malnutrition [adjusted HR 1.14 (0.26–5.07)] and sarcopenia [adjusted HR 1.25 (0.35–4.42)]. Nevertheless, the incidence
of COVID-19 was significantly higher in frail (44.4%) than in robust participants (8.5%) [Adjusted HR 7.01 (2.69–18.25)],
which was confirmed by the Kaplan–Meier curves (p < 0.001). Among the frailty syndrome components, a low physical
activity level was the only one significantly associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 [adjusted HR 5.18 (1.37–19.54)].
Conclusion Despite some limitations in the methodology of this study (i.e., limited sample size, COVID-19 incidence selfreported and not assessed systematically using objective measurements) requiring careful consideration, an increased risk
to develop COVID-19 was observed in the presence of the frailty syndrome. Further investigations are needed to elaborate
on our findings.
Keywords Malnutrition · Sarcopenia · Frailty · COVID-19 · SarcoPhAge
* Laetitia Lengelé
llengele@uliege.be
1
2
Division of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health
Economics, WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health
Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging, University
of Liège, CHU-Sart Tilman, Quartier Hôpital, Avenue
Hippocrate 13 (Bât. B23), 4000 Liège, Belgium
3
Physical, Rehabilitation Medicine and Sports Traumatology,
SportS2, University Hospital of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
4
Department of Sport Rehabilitation Sciences, University
of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
5
Geriatrics Department, University Hospital of Liège, Liège,
Belgium
Department of Infectious Diseases and General Internal
Medicine, CHU Sart-Tilman, University of Liège,
4000 Liège, Belgium
13
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