Postoperative Frailty Trajectories and One-Year Mortality in Older Surgical Patients

January 8, 2026 updated by: Yanhong Liu, Chinese PLA General Hospital

Association Between Postoperative Frailty Trajectories and One-Year Mortality in Older Surgical Patients: A Prospective Longitudinal Data Study

Frailty is a key predictor of adverse outcomes in older surgical patients, yet its longitudinal evolution and potentially reversible nature remain underexplored in perioperative settings. This study aimed to characterize postoperative frailty trajectories in older patients and to examine their association with one-year mortality, as well as factors influencing trajectory group.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

4417

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijin, Beijing Municipality, China, 100853
        • 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients' frailty was assessed using the FRAIL scale at four time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Patients were classified into distinct frailty trajectory groups using latent class trajectory modeling. One-year all-cause mortality was ascertained through structured telephone follow-up.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged ≥65 years;
  • Underwent elective non-cardiac, non-neurosurgical procedures;
  • Completed standardized frailty assessments both preoperatively and postoperatively.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe dementia, language disorders, significant hearing or visual impairments, or coma;
  • Cognitive function below the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) thresholds (<18 for illiterate individuals, <21 for individuals with primary education, and <25 for individuals with secondary education or higher);
  • Surgery performed under local anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care;
  • Surgical duration ≤30 minutes;
  • Missing data on postoperative complications or one-year mortality required for this study;
  • Incomplete frailty assessments at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
A retrospective cohort study based on prospectively collected data.
Patients' frailty was assessed using the FRAIL scale at four time points: preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Patients were classified into distinct frailty trajectory groups using latent class trajectory modeling. The study examined the associations between frailty trajectories and one-year mortality and further identified independent factors associated with frailty trajectory membership.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The primary outcome was one-year all-cause mortality.
Time Frame: At the one-year postoperative follow-up.
The primary outcome was one-year all-cause mortality, determined through structured telephone follow-up.
At the one-year postoperative follow-up.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Chinese PLA General Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 23, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 23, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

January 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 8, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PLAGH - FRAIL Trajectory

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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