In community-dwelling older adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed CHD, a higher geriatric syndrome burden is strongly and independently associated with intrinsic capacity impairment, reflecting a functional continuum from early capacity declines to advanced physical vulnerability.
Geriatric syndromes were highly prevalent in community-dwelling older adults with coronary heart disease, with 69.6% of participants having at least one geriatric syndrome.
Intrinsic capacity impairment prevalence increased progressively with greater geriatric syndrome burden, from 35.6% in those with 0 geriatric syndromes to 84.7% in those with ≥4 geriatric syndromes.
Participants with ≥4 geriatric syndromes had substantially higher prevalence of overall intrinsic capacity impairment compared to those with 0 geriatric syndromes.
Higher geriatric syndrome burden was most strongly associated with locomotion difficulties and psychological problems among the five intrinsic capacity domains.
Among individual geriatric syndromes, delirium symptoms showed the strongest association with cognitive impairment and overall intrinsic capacity impairment.
Specific dyadic combinations of geriatric syndromes remained independently associated with intrinsic capacity impairment even after adjusting for total concurrent geriatric syndrome burden.
The association between cumulative geriatric syndrome burden and intrinsic capacity impairment remained stable after adjusting for physical vulnerability including frailty and disability.
This research examined how common age-related health problems — called geriatric syndromes — relate to the overall functional capacity of older adults who have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD). The study analyzed data from nearly 5,835 community-dwelling older Chinese adults (average age 74.4 years), looking at conditions such as delirium, anxiety, and chronic constipation, and how these relate to 'intrinsic capacity' — a measure of a person's physical and mental abilities across five areas: movement, thinking, senses, energy/nutrition, and psychological wellbeing. The study found that nearly 70% of participants had at least one such geriatric syndrome, and that the more of these conditions a person had, the more likely they were to have impaired intrinsic capacity — rising from about 36% impairment in those with no geriatric syndromes to nearly 85% in those with four or more. The research found particularly strong links between having multiple geriatric syndromes and problems with movement and psychological wellbeing. Among individual conditions, delirium symptoms had the strongest connection to cognitive and overall functional decline. Notably, certain combinations of geriatric syndromes — such as anxiety occurring alongside chronic constipation — were associated with worse functional outcomes beyond what could be explained simply by the total number of conditions a person had. These findings held up even after accounting for frailty and disability, and did not differ meaningfully by age, sex, or geographic region. This research suggests that in older adults with heart disease, the accumulation of geriatric syndromes is closely linked to broader functional decline, and that simply counting how many such conditions a person has — as well as which combinations occur together — may be a useful way to identify those at highest risk for losing functional independence. This could support earlier, more targeted efforts to monitor and maintain functional ability in this vulnerable population.
Qiu J, Zhang S, Chen Y, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Zhang N, et al.. (2026). Geriatric syndromes and intrinsic capacity in older adults with coronary heart disease: a cross-sectional study in China.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1853890