Association Between Frailty and Cognitive Impairment: Cross-Sectional Data From Toulouse Frailty Day Hospital

Abstract Background A consensus panel, based on epidemiologic evidence, argued that physical frailty is often associated with cognitive impairment, possibly because of common underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. The concepts of cognitive frailty and motoric cognitive risk were recently proposed in literature and may represent a prodromal stage for neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between cognition and the components of the physical phenotype of frailty. Methods Participants admitted to the Toulouse frailty day hospital aged 65 years or older were included in this cross-sectional study. Cognitive impairment was identified using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Frailty was assessed using the physical phenotype as defined by Fried's criteria. We divided the participants into 2 groups: participants with normal cognition (CDR = 0) and participants who had cognitive impairment (CDR = 0.5). Participants with CDR >0.5 were excluded. Results Data from 1620 participants, mean age 82 years and 63% of women were analyzed. Cognitive impairment was identified in 52.5% of the participants. Frailty was identified in 44.7% of the sample. There were more frail subjects in the impaired group than the normal cognitive group (51% vs 38%, P Conclusion Physical frailty and in particular slow gait speed were associated with cognitive impairment. Future research including longitudinal studies should exploit the association between cognitive impairment and frailty.