Prevalence and associated factors of cognitive frailty in older patients with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is prevalent in older adults. In the aging CKD population, cognitive frailty is more common, but its prevalence and associated risk factors need to be further investigated. Methods This is a cross-sectional study that enrolled patients aged ≥ 60 years with a diagnosis of CKD from January 2018 to February 2021. Patients were assessed for frailty and cognition with the FRAIL and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scales and were divided into the cognitive frailty and non-cognitive frailty groups. Risk factors for cognitive frailty were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. A prediction model for cognitive frailty was built and a nomogram was plotted. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by using a concordance index (C-index) and calibration plots. Results A total of 1015 older patients with CKD were enrolled, among whom 607 (59.8%) were males and 408 (40.2%) were females, with an age ranging from 60 to 98 years, and an cognitive frailty prevalence of 15.2%. The prevalence of cognitive frailty varied among the CKD stages 1–5, with rates of 4.7%, 7.5%, 13.8%, 18.5%, and 21.4%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR = 1.11, 95%CI 1.08–1.14, p < 0.001), depression (OR = 2.52, 95%CI 1.54–4.11, p < 0.001), low social support (OR = 2.08, 95%CI 1.28–3.39, p = 0.003), Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) (OR = 1.92, 95%CI 1.70–2.18, p < 0.001), eGFR (OR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.96–0.99, p < 0.001) and albuminuria (OR = 5.93, 95%CI 3.28–10.74, p < 0.001) were independent risk factors affecting the association with cognitive frailty in older patients with CKD. A nomogram for assessing cognitive frailty was established and well-calibrated with a C-index of 0.91 (95%CI 0.89–0.94). Conclusions The prevalence of cognitive frailty was higher in older patients having CKD. Advanced age, comorbidity, depression, low social support, eGFR and albuminuria were independent risk factors for CKD accompanied with cognitive frailty.