Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026 Mar 18. doi: 10.1080/17474124.2026.2645570. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Frailty is a geriatric construct that is increasingly pertinent to patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Understanding how frailty and UC interact will be imperative to incorporating frailty into clinical decision making in UC.
AREAS COVERED: This article reviews the definition of frailty and its contributing factors. We review the mechanisms in which UC leads to frailty and the current literature on the impact of frailty status in UC disease course. This review was conducted through PubMed searches using the terms 'ulcerative colitis,' 'frailty,' 'sarcopenia,' 'inflammation,' 'multimorbidity,' and 'aging' with no time restrictions.
EXPERT OPINION: Frailty is a prevalent feature in UC and is partly mediated by the chronic inflammation and sarcopenia that characterize UC. Preliminary evidence suggests that frailty may prognosticate outcomes in patients with UC, but more work is needed to define features of frailty pertinent to inflammatory bowel disease, develop and validate measures tailored to assessing frailty in patients with UC, and implement frailty into clinical decision making for the management of UC.
PMID:41849263 | DOI:10.1080/17474124.2026.2645570