Functional clinical impairments and frailty in interstitial lung disease patients

Abstract

Background: Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) often present with persistent dyspnoea and reduced exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL), but their functional limitation in relation to their frailty status remains unclear. We thus aimed to compare exercise tolerance, functional mobility, and muscle function and composition between ILD participants and healthy subjects and according to their frailty status. Methods: questionnaires. Muscle composition was obtained using noncontrast computed tomography scans. The frailty status of patients with ILD was determined using the Fried frailty phenotype assessment. Results: Compared with control subjects, ILD participants exhibited significantly lower performance in every exercise and functional capacity test, higher dyspnoea and depression scores, and worse QoL. In ILD participants, the same observations were noted for the frail subgroup compared with the robust subgroup. No differences in muscle function and composition were observed between the ILD and control group, but mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area and skeletal muscle index were significantly reduced in frail ILD participants. Conclusions: ILD patients present reduced exercise tolerance and functional capacity, and have decreased health-related QoL, when compared with healthy subjects. Physical frailty seems to be associated with worse clinical status, exercise tolerance, muscle and functional impairment, and decreased QoL. The 1-min sit-to-stand test may be a good discriminatory test for frailty status in ILD patients.