Association between frailty and albuminuria in the community-dwelling geriatric population: Taichung Community Health Study for Elders

Abstract

Abstract Aim Elderly with frailty are more at risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality than the general population. Albuminuria is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, a major cause of frailty. We investigated the association between frailty and albuminuria in community-dwelling elderly. Methods This was a cross-sectional study for analying 1347 participants aged at least 65 years in the north district of Taichung, Taiwan. We defined the frailty phenotype as at least three characteristics: weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slow walking speed, and decreased physical activity. We collected random urine and measured all participants' albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR). We analyzed the association between frailty and ACR using logistic regression with adjustments for confoundings. Results The average age of 1347 participants was 76 ± 7 years, and 649 (48.2%) were male. 242 (18.7) participants were robust, 853 (63.3%) participants were pre-frail, and 242 (18%) were frail. 1064 (79%) participants had an ACR < 30 mg/g; the highest ACR was 2825 mg/g. The odds ratio of ACR was 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.05–1.25, p = 0.001) with adjustments for age, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, diabetes, liver function, and cholesterol. Conclusions Frailty is associated with urinary albuminuria in community-dwelling elderly, and this association is independent of traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors.