Frailty Is Associated With Disability and Recent Hospitalization in Community-Dwelling Elderly: The Coyoacan Cohort

Abstract

Background: The phenotype of frailty proposed by Fried et al has shown to predict several adverse health-related outcomes in elderly populations worldwide; however, the description of such associations in Latin America is still scarce. Objective: To describe the association between frailty and recent hospitalization, disability for basic (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Design, Setting and Participants:Cross-sectional study of 1,124 community-dwelling adults aged 70 and older participating in the Coyoacán cohort. Measurements: Frailty was defined by the presence of at least three of the following criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, slowness, and weakness. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the association between frailty and the outcomes of interest, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Mean age was 78.2 (SD ±6.1) years. Prevalence of frailty was 14.1%. Adjusted multivariate models showed that frail status was associated with ADL disability (OR 3.06, 95%CI 1.52-6.17), IADL disability (OR 17.02, 95%CI 6.16-47.01), and recent hospitalization (OR 3.21, 95%CI 1.31-7.8). Conclusion: Among Mexican community-dwelling elderly, frailty is associated with ADL and IADL disability as well as with recent hospitalizations. Moreover, frailty’s prevalence in this population appears to be greater compared to what has been reported elsewhere. Social and cultural traits should be further studied as correlates of frailty in diverse populations.

Relationship between Multimorbidity and Disability in Elderly Patients with Coexisting Frailty Syndrome

“…The authors’ research shows that the aging process of the patients decreased their functional ability to perform complex everyday life activities. Similar results were obtained in the studies of St John et al [ 28 ] and Su P. et al [ 32 ].…”

“…This means that in patients with higher ADL and IADL scores, the severity of the frailty syndrome was less severe. In many other studies, conducted by Rivera-Almaraz et al [ 25 ], Papachristou et al [ 27 ], Avila-Funes et al [ 28 ], similar correlations were found between the frailty syndrome and performance scores on the ADL and IADL scales. In the study conducted by Avila-Funes et al, it was additionally noted that weakness was associated with functional disability and hospitalizations that occurred in the period before the study [ 28 ].…”

“…In many other studies, conducted by Rivera-Almaraz et al [ 25 ], Papachristou et al [ 27 ], Avila-Funes et al [ 28 ], similar correlations were found between the frailty syndrome and performance scores on the ADL and IADL scales. In the study conducted by Avila-Funes et al, it was additionally noted that weakness was associated with functional disability and hospitalizations that occurred in the period before the study [ 28 ]. On the other hand, the work of Papachristou et al found that weakness and its determinants may affect the incidence of disability in the elderly and increase the frequency of falls and mortality [ 27 ].…”

Determination of an Optimal Frailty Cutoff Score of Tilburg Frailty Indicator and Frailty Associated Factors in Community-Dwelling Turkish Older Adults

“… 5 ) While Fried Frailty predominantly assesses physical frailty, it also has good validity for assessing frailty. 5 , 28 , 29 ) We found that the Fried score was more closely related to physical parameters, while the TFI score was more associated with both psychosocial and physical parameters. Thus, the TFI is multidimensional and more comprehensive in evaluating frailty.…”

Clinical Decision Making in Older Adults with COVID-19 in Developing Countries: Looking Beyond Chronological Age

“…Frailty and functional status have been largely and consistently related to adverse health-related outcomes, and those results have been replicated in diverse scenarios of medical care. Frailty describes a predominantly biological syndrome, product of a diminished homeostatic reserve and poor resilience, which in turn increases the vulnerability of an individual, and correlates with a larger use of healthcare services, risk of immobility, disability, and death in diverse settings [10][11][12][13][14][15] . On the other hand, multi-comorbidity has been recently envisioned as an entity that correlates with synergistic poor health-related outcomes and complex management, rather than just a numerical descriptor of clinical conditions or an inventory of diseases 16 .…”