Table 3.
Patient characteristics according to the categorized physical frailty in the derivation cohort
| Category I (n = 487) | Category II (n = 448) | Category III (n = 469) | Category IV (n = 374) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 66 [57–74] | 73 [67–80] | 80 [73–84] | 83 [77–87] | <0.001 |
| Men (%) | 76.2 | 67.0 | 51.6 | 43.9 | <0.001 |
| Past HF hospitalization | 20.3 | 27.0 | 33.5 | 40.4 | <0.001 |
| SBP at discharge | 110 [99–122] | 111 [99–125] | 112 [101–126] | 112 [101–126] | 0.077 |
| DBP at discharge | 66 [58–75] | 63 [56–72] | 62 [53–71] | 61 [54–70] | <0.001 |
| HR at discharge | 74 [65–84] | 74 [64–84] | 71 [63–80] | 73 [65–81] | 0.036 |
| Main aetiology | |||||
| Ischemic (%) | 25.9 | 26.6 | 25.8 | 27.8 | <0.001 |
| Arrhythmic (%) | 16.6 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 21.1 | |
| Valvular (%) | 11.7 | 17.4 | 20.3 | 21.4 | |
| Cardiomyopathy (%) | 21.6 | 12.9 | 12.4 | 7.0 | |
| Hypertensive (%) | 11.1 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 9.1 | |
| Others (%) | 13.1 | 15.4 | 13.2 | 13.6 | |
| Af at hospitalization (%) | 34.5 | 36.4 | 36.0 | 38.2 | 0.660 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Diabetes (%) | 31.8 | 35.3 | 37.5 | 39.8 | 0.084 |
| Cardiac surgery (%) | 8.0 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 0.002 |
| Cancer (%) | 2.3 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 0.002 |
| COPD (%) | 4.5 | 5.6 | 9.6 | 9.4 | <0.001 |
| Orthopaedic disease (%) | 1.4 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 12.3 | <0.001 |
| Stroke (%) | 0 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 0.002 |
| Biochemical data at discharge | |||||
| High BNP level (%) | 51.1 | 60.2 | 68.3 | 67.8 | <0.001 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.99 [0.83–1.23] | 1.11 [0.85–1.45] | 1.09 [0.84–1.46] | 1.16 [0.86–1.55] | <0.001 |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 57 [45–66] | 48 [36–62] | 43 [32–57] | 40 [29–54] | <0.001 |
| Sodium (mEq/L) | 140 [138–141] | 140 [137–141] | 139 [137–141] | 139 [137–141] | 0.080 |
| Anaemia (%) | 36.5 | 54.9 | 65.8 | 75.3 | <0.001 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.8 [3.5–4.0] | 3.6 [3.3–3.9] | 3.5 [3.2–3.8] | 3.4 [3.2–3.7] | <0.001 |
| hs‐CRP (mg/dL) | 0.27 [0.10–0.70] | 0.26 [0.10–0.78] | 0.31 [0.10–0.95] | 0.30 [0.11–0.91] | 0.370 |
| LVEF (%) | |||||
| <40% | 49.8 | 41.4 | 31.2 | 28.8 | <0.001 |
| 40–50 | 19.8 | 16.4 | 16.4 | 17.8 | |
| >50% | 30.4 | 42.3 | 52.4 | 53.4 | |
| Medications | |||||
| Beta blocker (%) | 81.5 | 78.1 | 71.6 | 63.4 | <0.001 |
| HFrEF (<40%) | 92.8 | 92.9 | 87.1 | 69.6 | <0.001 |
| HFpEF (≥50%) | 64.6 | 64.5 | 62.2 | 58.3 | 0.545 |
| ACEi/ARB (%) | 72.5 | 63.4 | 56.3 | 55.6 | <0.001 |
| HFrEF (<40%) | 78.8 | 73.6 | 65.3 | 54.9 | <0.001 |
| HFpEF (≥50%) | 65.3 | 55.9 | 48.6 | 55.7 | 0.016 |
| MRA (%) | 48.3 | 43.3 | 41.8 | 35.8 | 0.004 |
| HFrEF (<40%) | 55.9 | 52.8 | 53.1 | 43.1 | 0.193 |
| HFpEF (≥50%) | 34.7 | 32.3 | 35.6 | 32.0 | 0.822 |
| ≥1 of ACEi, ARB, or MRA (%) | 85.0 | 78.6 | 71.2 | 70.1 | <0.001 |
| HFrEF (<40%) | 91.5 | 87.4 | 79.6 | 72.6 | <0.001 |
| HFpEF (≥50%) | 75.7 | 69.9 | 65.2 | 68.0 | 0.183 |
| Diuretic (%) | 78.2 | 80.1 | 81.4 | 87.4 | 0.005 |
| Oral inotropic agent (%) | 9.2 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 15.0 | 0.049 |
| Statin (%) | 37.8 | 38.4 | 36.0 | 31.8 | 0.174 |
| Anticoagulant (%) | 45.2 | 50.7 | 47.1 | 49.7 | 0.470 |
| MMSE (points) | 29 [27–30] | 28 [25–30] | 26 [24–29] | 26 [24–28] | <0.001 |
| Depression (%) | 27.0 | 32.4 | 45.4 | 62.2 | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.1 [20.7–26.0] | 21.9 [19.8–24.7] | 21.48746 | 20.9 [18.5–23.5] | <0.001 |
| Walking speed (m/s) | 1.21 [1.11–1.32] | 1.05 [0.93–1.16] | 0.84 [0.71–0.94] | 0.69 [0.54–0.82] | <0.001 |
| Grip strength | |||||
| Men (kg) | 37.2 [33.5–41.8] | 28.4 [25.1–33.2] | 24.9 [20.3–29.1] | 22.0 [18.2–25.3] | <0.001 |
| Women (kg) | 22.0 [19.5–25.5] | 18.7 [16.8–21.1] | 16.7 [14.1–18.9] | 14.0 [11.3–15.7] | <0.001 |
| PMADL‐8 (points) | 15 [11–18] | 17 [14–20] | 21 [18–24] | 25 [23–28] | <0.001 |
| SEW‐7 (points) | 25 [22–29] | 21 [16–25] | 16 [13–21] | 11 [8–15] | <0.001 |
| Length of stay (days) | 16 [11–22] | 16 [12–26] | 17 [12–25] | 18 [13–28] | <0.001 |
ACEi, angiotensin‐converting enzyme; Af, atrial fibrillation; ARB, angiotensin II receptor blocker; BMI, body mass index; BNP, brain natriuretic peptide; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HF, heart failure; HR, heart rate; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; hs‐CRP, high‐sensitive C‐reactive protein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MMSE, Mini‐Mental State Examination; MRA, mineral corticoid antagonist; PMADL‐8, Performance Measure for Activities of Daily Living‐8; SEW‐7, Self‐Efficacy for Walking‐7.
Anaemia is defined as haemoglobin < 13 g/dL for men and <12 g/dL for women. High BNP level was defined as BNP ≥ 200 pg/mL or N‐terminal pro BNP ≥ 900 pg/mL. Depression is defined as 5‐item Geriatric Depression Scale ≥ 2 points.