Prevalence of Physical Frailty: Results from the DO-HEALTH Study

• Published in: The Journal of frailty & aging 2022-01, Vol.11 (1), p.18-25
• Main Authors: Gagesch, M, Chocano-Bedoya, P O, Abderhalden, L A, Freystaetter, G, Sadlon, A, Kanis, J A, Kressig, R W, Guyonnet, S, DaSilva, J A P, Felsenberg, D, Rizzoli, R, Blauth, M, Orav, E J, Egli, A, Bischoff-Ferrari, H A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Clinical trials; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Datasets; Female; Frail; Frail Elderly; Frailty; Frailty - diagnosis; Frailty - epidemiology; Gait; Gender; Genotype & phenotype; Geriatric Assessment; Health status; Humans; Life Sciences; Older people; Prevalence; Questionnaires; Sarcopenia; Self report; Women
• ISSN: 2260-1341; 2273-4309
• DOI: 10.14283/jfa.2021.18

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome associated with multiple negative health outcomes. However, its prevalence varies by population and instrument used. We investigated frailty and pre-frailty prevalence by 5 instruments in community-dwelling older adults enrolled to a randomized-controlled trial in 5 European countries. Cross-sectional baseline analysis in 2,144 DO-HEALTH participants recruited from Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, and Portugal with complete data for frailty. Frailty status was assessed by the Physical Frailty Phenotype [PFP], SOF-Frailty Index [SOF-FI], FRAIL-Scale, SHARE-Frailty Instrument [SHARE-FI], and a modified SHARE-FI, and compared by country, age, and gender. Logistic regression was used to determine relevant factors associated with frailty and pre-frailty. Mean age was 74.9 (±4.4) years, 61.6% were women. Based on the PFP, overall frailty and pre-frailty prevalence was 3.0% and 43.0%. By country, frailty prevalence was highest in Portugal (13.7%) and lowest in Austria (0%), and pre-frailty prevalence was highest in Portugal (57.3%) and lowest in Germany (37.1%). By instrument and overall, frailty and pre-frailty prevalence was highest based on SHARE-FI (7.0% / 43.7%) and lowest based on SOF-FI (1.0% / 25.9%). Frailty associated factors were residing in Coimbra (Portugal) [OR 12.0, CI 5.30-27.21], age above 75 years [OR 2.0, CI 1.17-3.45], and female gender [OR 2.8, CI 1.48-5.44]. The same three factors predicted pre-frailty. Among relatively healthy adults age 70 and older enroled to DO-HEALTH, prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty differed significantly by instrument, country, gender, and age. Among instruments, the highest prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty was documented by the SHARE-FI and the lowest by the SOF-FI.