The Relationship Between Frailty and Sarcopenia in Older Adults With Cancer

Abstract

Introduction:The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors affecting frailty and sarcopenia and to investigate the relationship between these two conditions.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study included 204 geriatric cancer patients who were admitted to the Chemotherapy Day Unit of a university hospital and who met the study's inclusion criteria. The Descriptive Characteristics Questionnaire, Modified Charlson Comorbidity Index, and Edmonton Frail Scale were used as data collection tools. A body composition analyzer, a hand dynamometer, a stopwatch, a stadiometer, and a tape measure were used to determine the presence of sarcopenia.Results: The prevalence of frailty was found to be 12.26%. The mean Edmonton Frail Scale score was significantly positively correlated with age and significantly negatively correlated with the number of years of education. It also had a significant relationship with gender and living-alone status. The prevalence of sarcopenia, on the other hand, was found to be 6.4%, and the presence of sarcopenia was found to be significantly related to age, livingalone status, and smoking status. The presence of sarcopenia significantly affected the level of frailty, increasing it 5.3-fold. Conclusion:Our study results reveal the importance of assessing older adults with cancer for geriatric syndromes and for determining their risk factors. To reduce the negative health outcomes and to provide individualized care, it is important to assess individuals in terms of frailty and sarcopenia before deciding on the treatment and care methods to employ.