Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Frailty in systemic lupus erythematosus:A scoping review
Authors' conclusion
A difference in frailty prevalence exists between elderly and elderly-excluded adult SLE patients, indicating the need for age-stratified management strategies.
Study context
- Population
- Studies of frailty in patients with SLE; PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, VIP and China Biomedical Literature Service System, inception to July 26, 202522 studies
- Outcome
- Prevalence of frailty, assessment tools, influencing factors and adverse effects of frailty on health outcomes in SLE
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Frailty prevalence
Elderly SLE patients (qualitative age stratification)
43.7%-83.5%
Non-elderly adults (stable rates)
16.0%-28.8%
Unstratified cohorts (wider variation)
6.2%-80.9%
Further findings
Assessment tools
- Evaluation tools identified
- 7
- SLICC-FI and FP most frequently used
Influencing factors
- Categorised as sociodemographic, disease-related, medication-related and other factors
Adverse effects of frailty on health outcomes
- Increased ED utilisation, hospitalisation rate, readmission rate, mortality and risk of complications
- Declines in physical function, activity ability, quality of life; potential cumulative injuries, pain, fatigue and disability
Original publication
Frailty in systemic lupus erythematosus:A scoping review. Lupus. Published 6 November 2025. doi:10.
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