Frailty rose and often persisted in older intensive care survivors
Frailty affected 23% of 346 patients before critical illness and 47% of 174 survivors assessed at three months in a Norwegian observational study.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 346 older adults requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, 12 months (Registered NCT06012942)
- What changed:
- Frailty rose from 23% before critical illness to 47% among survivors at three months
- The catch:
- Follow-up frailty estimates describe survivors, not the full starting group
- In the record:
- The 38th paper on mechanical ventilation with results in people; 120 on record in all.
- Why it’s aging research:
- It measures an outcome that worsens with age.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A prospective cohort study followed 346 adults aged 65 or older who needed a breathing machine through a tube for at least 24 hours in five Norwegian hospitals. Their average age was 74. Researchers assessed frailty, a reduced ability to withstand illness and other stresses, for the period before critical illness and at three and 12 months.
Frailty scores rose from before critical illness to both follow-ups. Between three and 12 months, scores stayed unchanged in 71% of 153 survivors assessed, improved in 19% and worsened in 10%. At 12 months, 39% of survivors assessed were frail. Overall, 52% of participants died within 12 months, mostly before hospital discharge. Frailty before critical illness had the strongest association with 12-month mortality.
Why it matters
Recovery after critical illness raises questions about older adults’ long-term independence. The authors called for intervention studies targeting factors associated with lasting functional decline and death.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish that intensive care caused the decline, and follow-up frailty estimates describe survivors rather than the full starting group. Findings concern older adults needing this breathing support; patients unable to complete questionnaires who had no relative to respond were excluded.
The paper
University Hospital of North Norway
Annals of Intensive Care, Jul 16, 2026, Open access
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