Change of frailty index and anthropometric indices in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Frailty can lead to an increase of mortality risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Anthropometric indices, such as body roundness index (BRI), A body shape index (ABSI), waist-to-weight Index (WWI), waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI), were significantly positively associated with worse frailty at baseline. However, the associations between anthropometric indices and change of frailty index (FI) in long-term follow-up remained unknown. Patients with COPD (pre-bronchodilator spirometry-defined forced expiratory volume in one second/ forced volume vital capacity < 0.70) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing from wave 2 were enrolled in this study. Anthropometric indices were measured in wave 2 (2004–2005), and a selection of 32 items was made to construct the FI index collected from wave 2 to 9. Three anthropometric indices group was categorized by the tertile of anthropometric indices: Q1 (low), Q2 (medium), Q3 (high). Pearson correlation analysis were used to explore association between anthropometric indices and baseline FI. We performed a linear mixed-effects model to explore an associations between anthropometric indices and change of FI at a 14-year follow-up. A total of 1,834 patients with COPD were enrolled in the study. Compared to the low anthropometric indices group, the high anthropometric indices group exhibited worse lung function and symptom scores at baseline. Anthropometric indices were significantly positively associated with worse FI at baseline. In a 14-year follow-up. We found that anthropometric indices were associated with faster decline in FI and the high anthropometric indices group exhibited faster decline in FI than those with the low anthropometric indices group. Our findings showed that high anthropometric indices group experienced an increased risk of decline in FI, suggesting that higher adiposity may have a potential worse effect on frailty progression in patients with COPD over the long term.