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Abstract Objective Due to the high clinical heterogeneity of epilepsy, there is a critical need for novel metrics aimed at capturing its biological and phenotypic complexity. Frailty is increasingly recognized in various medical disciplines as a useful construct to understand differences in susceptibility to adverse outcomes. Here, we develop a frailty index (FI) for patients with epilepsy (PwE) and explore its association with demographic and clinical features. Methods In this cross‐sectional study, we consecutively enrolled 153 PwE from an outpatient epilepsy clinic. Participants were assessed for various health deficits to calculate the FI. Associations between FI and demographic/clinical features, antiseizure medications (ASMs), and patient‐reported outcomes were analyzed using general linear models and Spearman correlation. Results The median age at the time of study visit was 47 years (interquartile range = 33–60), and 89 (58.2%) patients were females. Multiple linear regression revealed that the developed 33‐item FI showed an independent association with age, female sex, higher body mass index, family history of epilepsy, intellectual disability, and the number of ASMs used. A robust analysis of covariance showed higher FI levels in patients using cytochrome P450 3A4‐inducer ASMs. We found a moderate positive correlation between FI and psychological distress, lower quality of life, and physical frailty, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory‐10, and handgrip strength, respectively. Finally, a weak association was observed between higher FI scores and an increased number of epileptic falls. Significance This study highlights the significance of frailty as a comprehensive health measure in epilepsy. It suggests that frailty in this specific population is not only a manifestation of aging but is inherently linked to epilepsy and treatment‐related factors. Future research is warranted to validate and refine the FI in diverse epilepsy populations and investigate its impact on specific adverse outcomes in longitudinal studies.
Irelli et al. (Wed,) studied this question.