FRAILTY AND SUBCLINICAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Background: Frailty as well as atherosclerotic diseases are commonly prevalent among elderly subjects and usually share both complex pathway and risk factors. Hence it was important to study if there is an association between frailty and risk factors of atheroscleros isat its early stages (subclinical atherosclerosis) using the Ankle Brachial Index (ABI), carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and Abdominal Aortic Diameter (AAD) as markers of subclinical atherosclerosis. Material and Methods: A cross - sectional study con ducted on 90 elderly participants (60 - year - old and above), free of cardiovascular symptoms. They were dividedaccording to modified Fried criteria into: non - frail, pre - frail and frail groupsand they were subjected to comprehensive geriatric assessment, calc ulation of ABI, and radiological investigations including: carotid duplex to measure CIMT and abdominal ultrasound to measure AAD. Results: The study showed that frail participants had lower mean ABI value than non - frail group. Frail and pre - frail partici pants had higher maximum CIMT values than non - frail group. The mean AAD increased from 19.88 mm in the non - frail to 20.40 mm in the pre - frail group and 21.17 mm in the frail group, but this difference still not reaching a statistical significance. Conclusi on: The study concluded that frailty is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis