Association between frailty measured by the 10-item Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment–based Frailty Index (FI-CGA-10) and quality of life in older men with cancer

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the association between frailty and quality of life in older men with cancer, comparing frailty measured by the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment–based 10-item Frailty Index (FI-CGA-10) and the Fried frailty phenotype. Method: An observational analytical cross-sectional study was conducted based on a secondary analysis of a database from the Naval Medical Center in Peru. Data from 891 older men (≥60 years) with a recent diagnosis of cancer undergoing curative treatment were analyzed. Quality of life was assessed using the WHOQoL-Old questionnaire, and frailty was evaluated using the FI-CGA-10 and the Fried phenotype. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: Frailty was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of poor quality of life. In the adjusted model, frailty according to the Fried phenotype showed an adjusted PR of 1.17 (95% CI: 1.10–1.20), while frailty according to the FI-CGA-10 showed an adjusted PR of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.10–1.20). Polypharmacy was also associated with a higher prevalence of poor quality of life. Conclusions: Frailty is associated with poorer quality of life in older adults with cancer. The systematic assessment of frailty using instruments such as the FI-CGA-10 or the Fried phenotype may contribute to improving comprehensive geriatric assessment and guiding clinical decision-making in oncogeriatric.