Abstract
Objective
To explore the association between frailty and history of falls in people living with
multiple sclerosis (MS).
Design
Secondary analysis.
Setting
University research laboratories in the United States and Israel.
Participants
A total of 118 people (N=118) with relapsing-remitting MS (mean age, 48.9±10.0 years;
74.6% female; Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] range, 1.0-6.0) were studied
in this cross-sectional analysis.
Intervention
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
A frailty index was calculated from 40 health deficits by following standard validated
procedures. The number of falls (12-month history) was recorded.
Results
Overall, 33.9%, 29.7%, and 36.4% of participants were classified as nonfrail, moderately
frail, and severely frail, respectively. The frailty index was significantly correlated
(ρ=0.37, P<.001) with higher scores on the EDSS. In univariable negative binomial regression
analysis, the frailty index was associated with a higher number of falls (incidence
rate ratio [IRR]=3.33; 95% CI, 1.85-5.99; P<.001). After adjustment for age, sex, and EDSS, frailty remained strongly associated
with history of falls (IRR=2.78; 95% CI, 1.51-5.10; P=.001).
Conclusions
The current study identifies a significant relationship between frailty and history
of falls in MS, independent of age, sex, and disease severity. These findings support
the notion that frailty is a syndrome related to but independent of disability in
MS.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale), IRR (incidence rate ratio), MS (multiple sclerosis), NBR (negative binomial regression), OR (odds ratio), PwMS (people with multiple sclerosis)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 24, 2021
Accepted:
October 28,
2021
Received in revised form:
September 29,
2021
Received:
July 20,
2021
Footnotes
Supported in part by a grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (RG-1507-05433). A.M. and J.M.H. have received funding from Mobilise-D from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement no. 820820. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. J.J.S. has also received funding from MS Run the US.
Disclosures: Dr Paul received a grant and honoraria for lectures from Alexion during this study. The other authors disclosed no potential conflicts of interest with respect to research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
