TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive Impairment and Physical Frailty in Patients With Cirrhosis
AU - from the Multi-Center Functional Assessment in Liver Transplantation (FrAILT) Study
AU - Berry, Kacey
AU - Duarte-Rojo, Andres
AU - Grab, Joshua D.
AU - Dunn, Michael A.
AU - Boyarsky, Brian J.
AU - Verna, Elizabeth C.
AU - Kappus, Matthew R.
AU - Volk, Michael L.
AU - McAdams-DeMarco, Mara
AU - Segev, Dorry L.
AU - Ganger, Daniel R.
AU - Ladner, Daniela P.
AU - Shui, Amy
AU - Tincopa, Monica A.
AU - Rahimi, Robert S.
AU - Lai, Jennifer C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants TL1TR001871‐05 to K.B., K23AG048337 and R01AG059183 to J.L., F32DK124941 to B.B., P30DK026743 to J.L, J.G., and K24DK101828 to D.S.).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Hepatology Communications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Physical frailty and impaired cognition are common in patients with cirrhosis. Physical frailty can be assessed using performance-based tests, but the extent to which impaired cognition may impact performance is not well characterized. We assessed the relationship between impaired cognition and physical frailty in patients with cirrhosis. We enrolled 1,623 ambulatory adult patients with cirrhosis waiting for liver transplantation at 10 sites. Frailty was assessed with the liver frailty index (LFI; “frail,” LFI ≥ 4.4). Cognition was assessed at the same visit with the number connection test (NCT); continuous “impaired cognition” was examined in primary analysis, with longer NCT (more seconds) indicating worse impaired cognition. For descriptive statistics, “impaired cognition” was NCT ≥ 45 seconds. Linear regression associated frailty and impaired cognition; competing risk regression estimated subhazard ratios (sHRs) of wait-list mortality (i.e., death/delisting for sickness). Median NCT was 41 seconds, and 42% had impaired cognition. Median LFI (4.2 vs. 3.8) and rates of frailty (38% vs. 20%) differed between those with and without impaired cognition. In adjusted analysis, every 10-second NCT increase associated with a 0.08-LFI increase (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07-0.10). In univariable analysis, both frailty (sHR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.43-1.87) and impaired cognition (sHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.10) associated with wait-list mortality. After adjustment, frailty but not impaired cognition remained significantly associated with wait-list mortality (sHR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.33-1.79). Impaired cognition mediated 7.4% (95% CI, 2.0%-16.4%) of the total effect of frailty on 1-year wait-list mortality. Conclusion: Patients with cirrhosis with higher impaired cognition displayed higher rates of physical frailty, yet frailty independently associated with wait-list mortality while impaired cognition did not. Our data provide evidence for using the LFI to understand mortality risk in patients with cirrhosis, even when concurrent impaired cognition varies.
AB - Physical frailty and impaired cognition are common in patients with cirrhosis. Physical frailty can be assessed using performance-based tests, but the extent to which impaired cognition may impact performance is not well characterized. We assessed the relationship between impaired cognition and physical frailty in patients with cirrhosis. We enrolled 1,623 ambulatory adult patients with cirrhosis waiting for liver transplantation at 10 sites. Frailty was assessed with the liver frailty index (LFI; “frail,” LFI ≥ 4.4). Cognition was assessed at the same visit with the number connection test (NCT); continuous “impaired cognition” was examined in primary analysis, with longer NCT (more seconds) indicating worse impaired cognition. For descriptive statistics, “impaired cognition” was NCT ≥ 45 seconds. Linear regression associated frailty and impaired cognition; competing risk regression estimated subhazard ratios (sHRs) of wait-list mortality (i.e., death/delisting for sickness). Median NCT was 41 seconds, and 42% had impaired cognition. Median LFI (4.2 vs. 3.8) and rates of frailty (38% vs. 20%) differed between those with and without impaired cognition. In adjusted analysis, every 10-second NCT increase associated with a 0.08-LFI increase (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07-0.10). In univariable analysis, both frailty (sHR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.43-1.87) and impaired cognition (sHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.10) associated with wait-list mortality. After adjustment, frailty but not impaired cognition remained significantly associated with wait-list mortality (sHR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.33-1.79). Impaired cognition mediated 7.4% (95% CI, 2.0%-16.4%) of the total effect of frailty on 1-year wait-list mortality. Conclusion: Patients with cirrhosis with higher impaired cognition displayed higher rates of physical frailty, yet frailty independently associated with wait-list mortality while impaired cognition did not. Our data provide evidence for using the LFI to understand mortality risk in patients with cirrhosis, even when concurrent impaired cognition varies.
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U2 - 10.1002/hep4.1796
DO - 10.1002/hep4.1796
M3 - Article
C2 - 34558844
AN - SCOPUS:85113332594
SN - 2471-254X
VL - 6
SP - 237
EP - 246
JO - Hepatology Communications
JF - Hepatology Communications
IS - 1
ER -