Frailty and outcomes in older adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation from the ANAFIE registry

Authors: Masahiro Akishita, Shinya Suzuki, Hiroshi Inoue, Masaharu Akao, Hirotsugu Atarashi, Takanori Ikeda, Yukihiro Koretsune, Ken Okumura, Wataru Shimizu, Hiroyuki Tsutsui, Ḱazunori Toyoda, Atsushi Hirayama, Masahiro Yasaka, Takenori Yamaguchi, Satoshi Teramukai, Tetsuya Kimura, Y Morishima, Atsushi Takita, Takeshi Yamashita - Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2022 cited by 25

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the proportion of frail patients among older adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), characterize them and their use of anticoagulant therapy, and examine the association between frailty and clinical outcomes in a real-world setting using the ANAFIE Registry dataset. METHODS: The target population consisted of more than 30,000 adults aged ≥75 years definitively diagnosed with NVAF by electrocardiogram. For this sub-cohort study, patients who answered the Kihon Checklist were registered prospectively. Patients were classified into robust, pre-frail, and frail groups based on the Kihon Checklist score. RESULTS: Of the 32,275 patients in the ANAFIE Registry, 2951 were enrolled in this subanalysis and responded to the Kihon Checklist: 959 (32.5%) patients were robust; 924 (31.3%), pre-frail; and 1068 (36.2%), frail. In the robust, pre-frail, and frail groups, respectively, the 2-year cumulative incidence rates of stroke/systemic embolic events were 2.4%, 3.3%, and 4.5%, (P = .025); all-cause death, 2.9%, 5.1%, and 13.7%, (P < .001); major bleeding, 1.5%, 1.2%, and 2.9%, (P = .029); and net clinical outcomes, 5.5%, 8.2%, and 17.1% (P < .001). Results were similar when comparing the robust+pre-frail vs frail groups. In multivariate analyses, cardiovascular death, all-cause death, and net clinical outcomes were significantly associated with frailty. In the robust+pre-frail vs frail groups, major bleeding was also associated with frailty. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was associated with cardiovascular and all-cause death, net clinical outcomes, and major bleeding but not stroke or intracranial hemorrhage in older Japanese adults with NVAF.