ObjectivesSelf-rated health (SRH) is an assessment and predictor of health based on an individual’s general condition; however, evidence of the value of SRH for predicting frailty remains scarce for older Asian adults. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between SRH score trajectory and frailty among older individuals in Taiwan.DesignAn 8-year retrospective cohort study.SettingData were retrieved from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging from 1999 to 2007.ParticipantsRespondents aged 53–69 years old who were not frail or disabled in 1999 (n=1956).Primary and secondary outcome measuresFrailty was defined using the Fried criteria. The group-based trajectory modelling technique was used to estimate SRH trajectories. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between changes in SRH and frailty.ResultsFour SRH trajectory classes were identified across the 8-year follow-up: 232 participants (11.9%) were classified into the constantly poor SRH group, 1123 (57.4%) into the constantly fair SRH group, 335 (17.1%) into the constantly good SRH group and 266 (13.6%) into the good-to-fair SRH group. After adjusting for gender, age, level of education, income, social participation, health behaviours and major comorbidities, it was found that age, poor income satisfaction, without job and constantly poor SRH were associated with increased risk of frailty, while constantly good SRH (OR 0.04, 95% CI (0.01 to 0.32)) and good-to-fair SRH (OR 0.19, 95% CI (0.06 to 0.63)) were associated with reduced risks of frailty.ConclusionsConstantly poor SRH was associated with an increased risk of frailty in older age. SRH in older adults should be recognised as a predictive tool for future frailty. Diet and exercise interventions may help to prevent frailty among high-risk older individuals with constantly low SRH.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prescription trend and pattern of oral antidiabetic (OAD) medications, which are extensively used worldwide for treating type 2 diabetes, in 2 age groups.In this population-based study, data obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan, were analyzed to investigate the prescription trend of all types of OAD medications during 2005 to 2012. We used descriptive statistics to demonstrate the trend of prescription patterns stratified by age (aged 65 years and above or younger than 65).Sulfonylurea (SU) was once the most commonly used drug, but the proportion of its prescription had declined gradually (76.83% in 2005 to 63.70% in 2012). Consequently, biguanide (BG) became the most commonly used drug since 2010 (64.31% in 2005 to 74.41% in 2012). In addition, the prescriptions of thiazolidinedione decreased significantly (9.20% in 2005 to 2.86% in 2012), whereas the usage of DPP-4 inhibitor increased with time (3.73% in 2009 to 19.64% in 2012). The treatment choice of SU and α-glucosidase inhibitor (AGI) was higher in elderly patients compared with the younger population (SU: 62.70% in 2012, AGI: 12.78% in 2012). Two-drug combination therapies were the prevalent treatment choices for patients with type 2 diabetes (44.77% in 2012), particularly in the elderly group; however, ≥3 drug combination therapies increased gradually during the study period, particularly in the younger group.This descriptive study presents the change in the prescription of OAD medication for different age groups during 2005 to 2012.