05 September 2025 : Clinical Research
Frailty and Cognitive Decline in Hospitalized Elderly Patients: Associations with Clinical and Laboratory Parameters
Elżbieta Kozak-Szkopek
ABCDEF 1,2, Katarzyna Wdowiak ADF 3, Anna M. Imiela AB 2, Aisha Ou-Pokrzewińska AB 2, Zuzanna Strząska-Kliś B 1,4, Agata Andrzejczyk C 5, Łukasz Czyżewski CDE 1*
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.947354
Med Sci Monit 2025; 31:e947354
Table 1 Comparative analysis of clinical parameters in relation to MMSE results.
| MMSE | 1 (27–30 pts) | 2 (24–26 pts) | 3 (19–23 pts) | 4 (11–18 pts) | 5 (0–10 pts) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 109 | 65 | 54 | 30 | 6 | |
| MMSE | 28 (27–29) | 25 (24–26) | 21 (20–22) | 17 (15–17) | 9 (7–9) | <0.001 |
| Age, y | 78 (73–85) | 82 (76–88) | 85 (75–90) | 86 (84–89) | 90 (83–92) | <0.001 |
| Sex, m, n (%) | 47 (43) | 20 (31) | 23 (43) | 11 (37) | 1 (17) | 0.374 |
| Eyeglasses, n (%) | 95 (87) | 55 (85) | 39 (74) | 19 (63) | 2 (33) | <0.001 |
| Hearing aid, n (%) | 18 (17) | 7 (11) | 20 (37) | 7 (23) | 2 (33) | 0.004 |
| Bone fractures, n (%) | 44 (41) | 18 (28) | 13 (24) | 11 (37) | 2 (40) | 0.200 |
| Pressure ulcers, n (%) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 6 (11) | 4 (14) | 0 (0) | 0.021 |
| Living alone, n (%) | 48 (44) | 35 (54) | 21 (39) | 12 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.042 |
| Walking, n (%) | ||||||
| Unaided | 75 (69) | 32 (49) | 25 (46) | 8 (27) | 1 (17) | <0.001 |
| With cane/walking frame | 30 (28) | 30 (46) | 22 (41) | 7 (23) | 0 (0) | 0.008 |
| Bed-bound, n (%) | 5 (5) | 6 (9) | 8 (15) | 15 (50) | 5 (83) | <0.001 |
| Incontinence briefs, n (%) | 40 (37) | 42 (65) | 33 (61) | 23 (77) | 5 (83) | <0.001 |
| Education level,y | 11 (11–16) | 11 (9–16) | 11 (9–11) | 11 (9–16) | 9 (9–16) | 0.247 |
| BMI, kg/m | 26 (23–30) | 25 (23–29) | 24 (22–28) | 25 (22–28) | 24 (23–26) | 0.137 |
| Arm circumference, cm | 24 (23–26) | 24 (23–25) | 24 (23–25) | 24 (22–24) | 22 (22–22) | 0.026 |
| Lower leg circumference, cm | 32 (31–34) | 32 (31–34) | 33 (31–34) | 32 (30–34) | 31 (30–32) | 0.594 |
| Waist circumference, cm | 90 (88–95) | 90 (90–95) | 90 (90–95) | 90 (86–92) | 90 (86–90) | 0.359 |
| Abbreviated Tinetti test | 10 (5–10) | 6 (5–10) | 5 (5–10) | 5 (0–7) | 0 (0–3) | <0.001 |
| Norton scale | 17 (16–19) | 16 (15–18) | 16 (13–18) | 13 (11–16) | 10 (9–11) | <0.001 |
| Barthel index | 90 (80–95) | 80 (60–90) | 70 (35–85) | 35 (15–60) | 8 (0–20) | <0.001 |
| ADL | 6 (5–6) | 5 (4–6) | 4 (2–6) | 1 (0–3) | 0 (0–1) | <0.001 |
| IADL | 4 (3–6) | 4 (2–5) | 1 (1–3) | 1 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | <0.001 |
| GDS | 2 (1–4) | 3 (2–4) | 2 (1–4) | 5 (1–8) | 3 (1–5) | 0.629 |
| Na, mmol/l. | 141 (139–142) | 141 (138–143) | 141 (139–143) | 141 (138–145) | 142 (141–143) | 0.540 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.6 (3.2–4.0) | 3.6 (3.3–3.9) | 3.3 (2.9–3.7) | 3.1 (2.6–3.6) | 3.7 (3.4–3.9) | 0.001 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 12.0 (10.4–13.2) | 12.0 (10.2–13.3) | 11.7 (10.1–12.9) | 11.7 (10.2–13.2) | 12.1 (11.0–12.9) | 0.948 |
| Lymphocytes, K/μL | 1180 (980–1980) | 1395 (960–2000) | 1160 (785–1735) | 1240 (870–1760) | 875 (790–910) | 0.189 |
| TSH, μIU/ml | 1.7 (0.7–3.0) | 1.6 (0.6–3.5) | 1.3 (0.8–2.1) | 1.5 (0.8–2.1) | 1.0 (0.6–1.1) | 0.618 |
| VES-13 | 7 (4–8) | 8 (4–10) | 8 (8–10) | 10 (8–10) | 10 (8–10) | <0.001 |