Prevalence of preoperative multidimensional frailty and associated factors in middle-aged and older patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Frailty has emerged as a significant predictor of health outcomes. However, multidimensional frailty among middle-aged and older patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer remains understudied. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prevalence of preoperative multidimensional frailty and its associated factors in this population.

METHODS

A total of 223 middle-aged and older patients with breast cancer were recruited from the breast surgery ward of a general hospital in China from September 2023 to July 2024. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical information, biochemical indicators, Tilburg frailty indicator scores, physical activity scale for the elderly scores, and Resnick exercise self-efficacy scale scores were collected from all patients. Chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests were used for univariate analyses, and variables with statistical significance were included in a binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with multidimensional frailty.

RESULTS

The prevalence of preoperative multidimensional frailty was 36.3% in middle-aged and older patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Factors associated with multidimensional frailty included higher exercise self-efficacy (OR = 0.760, p = 0.004), high self-perceived financial distress (OR = 3.996, p = 0.009), living alone (OR = 17.822, p = 0.007), difficulty falling asleep (OR = 2.858, p = 0.005), ≥ 2 comorbidities (OR = 7.995, p = 0.003), low white blood cell count (OR = 5.202, p = 0.011), and overweight or obesity (OR = 0.417, p = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of preoperative multidimensional frailty is relatively high among middle-aged and older patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and is associated with exercise self-efficacy, self-perceived financial distress, living arrangement, difficulty falling asleep, number of comorbidities, white blood cell count, and body mass index. Healthcare professionals should assess patient characteristics to identify high-risk patients preoperatively and consider developing targeted interventions to enhance exercise self-efficacy, which may be beneficial for the management of multidimensional frailty and related health outcomes.