Might the haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score predict prefrailty and frailty in older adults without cancer: a cross-sectional study?

Background: Frailty is associated with both malnutrition and systemic inflammation. Aims: This study investigated the relationship between the haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score and frailty stages in older adults. Methods: In total, 439 patients admitted to our geriatrics outpatient clinic between January 2023 and June 2024 were retrospectively analysed. All patients underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, and frailty was assessed according to the Fried frailty phenotype. Patients were categorised into three groups: frail, prefrail, and robust. HALP score was calculated and compared between this three groups. Results: The mean age of all patients was 76.12 ± 6.74 years, and 71.3% were female. Age, the frequencies of female sex, dementia, recurrent falls, geriatric depression, polypharmacy, malnutrition, and probable sarcopenia were higher in the frail group than in the prefrail and robust groups (p < 0.05). The median HALP score was lower in the frail and prefrail groups than in the robust group (34.9 vs. 48.3, p < 0.001 and 38.6 vs. 48.3, p = 0.005, respectively). In the logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for confounding factors, the significance remained for the frail and prefrail groups compared with the robust group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The HALP score may be an predictor of prefrail and frail older adults, with potential utility in clinical practice.