Postoperative Frailty Trajectories and One-Year Mortality in Older Surgical Patients

NCT07322809 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: PLAGH - FRAIL Trajectory
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 4,417
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Frailty is a key predictor of adverse outcomes in older surgical patients, yet its longitudinal evolution and potentially reversible nature remain underexplored in perioperative settings. This study aimed to characterize postoperative frailty trajectories in older patients and to examine their association with one-year mortality, as well as factors influencing trajectory group.

Conditions

All Cause Mortality; Frailty in Older Adults; Trajectory

Keywords

Frailty trajectory; older surgical patients; one-year mortality; latent class trajectory modeling

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• The primary outcome was one-year all-cause mortality.

  The primary outcome was one-year all-cause mortality, determined through structured telephone follow-up.

  At the one-year postoperative follow-up.

Study Arms (1)

A retrospective cohort study based on prospectively collected data.

Patients' frailty was assessed using the FRAIL scale at four time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Patients were classified into distinct frailty trajectory groups using latent class trajectory modeling. The study examined the associations between frailty trajectories and one-year mortality and further identified independent factors associated with frailty trajectory membership.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients' frailty was assessed using the FRAIL scale at four time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Patients were classified into distinct frailty trajectory groups using latent class trajectory modeling. One-year all-cause mortality was ascertained through structured telephone follow-up.

You may qualify if:

• Aged ≥65 years;
• Underwent elective non-cardiac, non-neurosurgical procedures;
• Completed standardized frailty assessments both preoperatively and postoperatively.

You may not qualify if:

• Severe dementia, language disorders, significant hearing or visual impairments, or coma;
• Cognitive function below the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) thresholds (\<18 for illiterate individuals, \<21 for individuals with primary education, and \<25 for individuals with secondary education or higher);
• Surgery performed under local anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care;
• Surgical duration ≤30 minutes;
• Missing data on postoperative complications or one-year mortality required for this study;
• Incomplete frailty assessments at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese PLA General Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District

Beijin, Beijing Municipality, 100853, China

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Deputy Chief of administration, Anesthesiology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 23, 2025
• First Posted: January 7, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2020
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2022
• Study Completion: April 30, 2023
• Last Updated: January 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)