Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40165150›Full record

SynthesisBMC pulmonary medicine2025

The impact of frailty on clinical outcomes among individuals with COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Mathew Cherian, Pourya Masoudian, Kednapa Thavorn, Jacqueline Sandoz, Risa Shorr, Sunita Mulpuru

Abstract readComparative StudyMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC pulmonary medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Frailty and COPD: a bidirectional relationship in the context of systemic and accelerated ageing.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mathew Cherian *Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada. mathew.cherian@mcgill.ca.
Pourya Masoudian *Department of Medicine, Division of Respirology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Kednapa ThavornClinical Epidemiology Program, The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
Jacqueline SandozDepartment of Medicine, Division of Respirology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Risa ShorrLibrary Information Services, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada.
Sunita MulpuruDepartment of Medicine, Division of Respirology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. smulpuru@toh.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFrailty is a prevalent and robust predictor of poor outcomes for older adults and those with chronic disease. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to understand the association between frailty and clinical outcomes for people with COPD.

methodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, and Web of Science from inception to February 2022, for observational studies evaluating the association between frailty and clinical outcomes among individuals with COPD. Included studies defined COPD by spirometry, used a validated frailty assessment tool, and compared dyspnea, symptom burden, health related quality of life, exacerbations, hospitalization, or mortality between frail and non-frail individuals. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Mean differences or hazard ratios were calculated using inverse variance (IV) methods, odds ratios were calculated using Mantel-Haenszel methods, and homogeneity was assessed using I

resultsOf 1385 identified studies, 16 studies were included with 7 studies included in the meta-analyses, representing 5903 individuals. The Fried Frailty Phenotype instrument was used in 50% of included studies. When comparing frail vs. non-frail people with COPD, pooled estimates revealed frail people with COPD had higher dyspnea scores [modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) score standardized mean difference (95% CI): 1.67 (1.40-1.92), I

conclusionsPeople with COPD and frailty experience increased dyspnea, symptom burden, exacerbation history, and hospitalizations compared to non-frail patients with COPD. Frailty is a robust predictor of outcomes among people with COPD and should be considered a treatable trait. Additional work is needed to standardize screening methods for frailty, and to understand the optimal timing of non-pharmacologic interventions to treat frailty among people with COPD. PROSPERO REGISTRY ID: CRD42022329893.

Indexed as

FrailtyPulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveAgedDisease ProgressionDyspneaHospitalizationHumansQuality of LifeCOPDFrailtyPre-frailtyTreatable trait

Identifiers

PMID40165150
PMCPMC11956239

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.