Construction of a frailty index as a novel health measure in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The SLICC inception cohort permits feasible construction of an FI for use in patients with SLE. Even in a relatively young cohort of SLE patients, frailty was common. The SLICC-FI may be a useful tool for identifying SLE patients who are most vulnerable to adverse outcomes but validation of this index is required prior to its use.