Link observed between deficits in geriatric assessments, disease activity, burden in IBD
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Among older patients with inflammatory bowel disease, investigators found deficits in geriatric assessments were highly prevalent, according to a study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
“[Our] findings underline the importance of assessing the presence of frailty in older patients with IBD, as the prevalence of geriatric deficits we found is high,” Vera E.R. Asscher, MD, from the department of gastroenterology and hepatology, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. “Patients with active disease were more prone to geriatric deficits and patients with geriatric deficits had a higher symptom burden.
“As the population ages, we should strive to work toward a multidisciplinary evaluation of older patients with IBD to aim for the best possible treatment goals, while accounting for biological age-based risk factors,” they added.
Asscher and colleagues performed a retrospective study of 405 consecutive outpatient IBD patients aged 65 years and older. They evaluated somatic domain (eg, comorbidity, polypharmacy, malnutrition), impairments in (instrumental) activities of daily living, physical capacity (eg, handgrip strength, gait speed), mental (eg, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment), and social domain (eg, life-partner).
The researchers defined geriatric assessment as two or more abnormal domains. They evaluated clinical and biochemical activity and disease burden.
Results showed somatic domain (51.6%) and activities of daily living (43%) were the most impaired. Investigators observed 160 patients had moderate deficits in their geriatric evaluation and 32 patients had severe deficits.
According to the researchers, clinical (adjusted OR = 2.191; 95% CI, 1.284-3.743) and biochemical (aOR = 3.358; 95% CI, 1.936-5.825) disease correlated with deficits.
“Deficits in geriatric assessment independently associate with lower [health-related quality of life],” the investigators wrote.
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