Syncope is associated with multidimensional frailty in older adults

Background Multidimensional frailty and syncope are common in older adults, yet their relationship remains unclear. Methods This retrospective multicenter study, involving outpatients who underwent Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, aims to evaluate the relationship between frailty and syncope. Patients were classified as fit/light frail, moderate frail or severe frail based on their fr-AGILE score. Patients reporting one or more episodes of syncope were referred to “Syncope and Fall Unit” and evaluated according to the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology. Syncope episodes were classified in cardiac, reflex, orthostatic and of unknown origin. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the association between the frailty score and syncope, independent of age, sex, comorbidity, and polypharmacy. Results Among 560 patients (mean age 77.7 ± 6.9 years, 54.5% female), 107 reported experiencing syncopal episodes. Patients with history of syncope had a higher prevalence of orthostatic hypotension (41.1% vs. 18.8%, p = 0.001) and a higher fr-AGILE score (6.5 ± 2.0 vs. 5.4 ± 1.9, p = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidity, and number of medications, showed that frailty, estimated by the fr-AGILE score, was associated with an increased risk of syncope (OR for each unit increase in fr-AGILE: 1.468, 95% CI: 1.276–1.690, p = 0.001). Frailty was associated with syncope, particularly cases of undetermined origin, but not with cardiac syncope. Conclusions The fr-AGILE score identifies patients at high risk of syncope. Frailty is strongly associated with non-cardiac syncope and with cases where a pathophysiological cause of the syncopal event could not be determined.