OBJECTIVE

COPD patients have a high incidence of frailty and numerous complications, which seriously affect their quality of life. This study systematically evaluated and analyzed the current state of frailty incidence and risk factors in COPD patients to reduce the prevalence of frailty and enhance their quality of life.

METHOD

The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases were searched for relevant studies from the inception of each database until November 2022. A thorough literature screening, quality evaluation, and data extraction was conducted. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan5.3Meta. Twelve articles were selected as most relevant to this review; 10 were in Chinese, and 2 were in English.

RESULTS

The results showed that the incidence of asthenia in COPD patients was 26% (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.17~0.34).

DISCUSSION

The main risk factors for frailty in COPD patients were age (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.301.34), GOLD pulmonary function class (OR 3.18, 95% CI 2.144.71), mMRC score (OR 3.90, 95% CI 1.539.92), comorbidity (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.483.18), polypharmacy (OR 6.74, 95% CI 3.2314.08), malnutrition (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.776.24), depression (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.071.76) and ≥2 admissions within 1 year (OR 4.84, 95% CI 2.459.57).

CONCLUSION

The study presented comprehensive evidence through meta-analysis and proposed that the prevalence of frailty in COPD patients is 26%. Risk factors were identified, including age, pulmonary function class according to GOLD criteria, mMRC score, comorbidity polypharmacy malnutrition, depression, or 2 or more hospital admissions within a year. It is recommended that clinical medical staff identify these risk factors at an early stage.