Development and validation of a nomogram-assisted tool to predict potentially reversible cognitive frailty in Chinese community-living older adults.

BACKGROUND

Cognitive frailty (CF) is a complex and heterogeneous clinical syndrome that indicates the onset of neurodegenerative processes and poor prognosis. In order to prevent the occurrence and development of CF in real world, we intended to develop and validate a simple and timely diagnostic instrument based on comprehensive geriatric assessment that will identify patients with potentially reversible CF (PRCF).

METHODS

750 community-dwelling individuals aged over 60 years were randomly allocated to either a training or validation set at a 4:1 ratio. We used the operator regression model offering the least absolute data dimension shrinkage and feature selection among candidate predictors. PRCF was defined as the presence of physical pre-frailty, frailty, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) occurring simultaneously. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to build a diagnostic tool to present data as a nomogram. The performance of the tool was assessed with respect to its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness.

RESULTS

PRCF was observed in 326 patients (43%). Predictors in the tool were educational background, coronary heart disease, handgrip strength, gait speed, instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) disability, subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and five-times-sit-to-stand test. The diagnostic nomogram-assisted tool exhibited good calibration and discrimination with a C-index of 0.805 and a higher C-index of 0.845 in internal validation. The calibration plots demonstrated strong agreement in both the training and validation sets, while decision curve analysis confirmed the nomogram's efficacy in clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

This tool can effectively identify older adults at high risk for PRCF, enabling physicians to make informed clinical decisions and implement proper patient-centered individual interventions.