Clinical Frailty Scale and Body Mass Index as an Independent Predictor of 2-year Mortality at Hospitalized Patients

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the clinical frailty scale (CFS) and body mass index (BMI) on the 2 -year mortality prediction in hospitalized internal medicine patients. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted between January 2019 and February 2020. Subjects (18 years and older) admitted to the internal medicine wards and expected to stay for at least 72 h were included. Participants were evaluated within 48 h of admission. The Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was calculated. Anthropometric measurements and handgrip strength were obtained within 48 h. CFS was used for frailty assessment. Cox regression analysis was performed for mortality analysis. Results: One hundred eighteen patients were included. Fifty-eight of the (49.2%) patients were 65 years and over. In multivariate analysis, BMI and CFS were independently associated with 2 -year mortality, regardless of age, sex, and CCI. Hazard ratios for BMI and CFS were 0.898 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.840-0.961; p=0.002] and 1.313 (95% CI, 1.002-1.719; p=0.048), respectively. Conclusion: Higher CFS scores and lower BMI scores are independently associated with 2 -year mortality in hospitalized internal medicine patients.