Background
Methods
Study design
Study population
Ethics, consent and permissions
Measurement and outcomes
Accumulation of deficits
Fried frailty
Statistical analysis
Results
Study cohort and participant characteristics
Prevalence of frailty
Total prevalence
Variable | Accumulation of Deficits | Fried frailty | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Not frail (n = 10,042) | Frail (n = 953) | Not frail (n = 6,871) | Frail (n = 482) | |
Age | 43.94 (0.35) | 57.98 (0.80)c
| 44.67 (0.42) | 47.32 (1.13)e
|
Sex (% male) | 4946 (49.3%) | 497 (52.2%) | 3506 (51.0%) | 166 (34.5%)e
|
Diabetesa
| 317 (3.3%) | 348 (36.6%)c
| 352 (5.1%) | 52 (10.8%)e
|
Thyroid problema
| 599 (5.9%) | 206 (21.7%)c
| 443 (6.5%) | 57 (11.8%)d
|
Cancera
| 403 (4.0%) | 181 (19.0%)c
| 304 (4.4%) | 47 (9.8%)e
|
Strokea
| 69 (0.7%) | 44 (4.6%)c
| 58 (0.8%) | 14 (2.9%)d
|
Heart diseasea
| 253 (2.5%) | 229 (24.0%)c
| 284 (4.1%) | 46 (9.5%)e
|
Arthritisa
| 1266 (12.6%) | 515 (54.1%)c
| 982 (14.3%) | 160 (33.3%)e
|
Persistent cougha
| 1258 (12.5%) | 354 (37.1%)c
| 954 (13.9%) | 92 (19.2%)d
|
Known kidney dysfunctiona
| 99 (1.00%) | 94 (9.9%)c
| 109 (1.6%) | 23 (4.7%)e
|
Poor health a
| 788 (7.8%) | 520 (54.6%)c
| 624 (9.1%) | 172 (35.6%)e
|
Poor health compared to 1 year agoa
| 1113 (11.1%) | 426 (44.7%)c
| 833 (12.1%) | 139 (28.8%)e
|
COPDa
| 38 (0.4%) | 72 (7.5%)c
| 47 (0.7%) | 15 (3.1%)e
|
Asthmaa
| 770 (7.7%) | 245 (25.7%)c
| 602 (8.8%) | 59 (12.3%) |
Liver diseasea
| 220 (2.2%) | 92 (9.6%)c
| 199 (2.9%) | 16 (3.3%) |
Trouble sleepinga
| 4712 (47.0%) | 708 (74.2%)c
| 3238 (47.1%) | 304 (63.1%)e
|
Resting HR (beats/min)a
| 68.21 (0.30) | 68.97 (0.72) | 67.61 (0.29) | 69.35 (0.61)e
|
Systolic BP (mmHg)a
| 111.41 (0.40) | 120.80 (1.46)c
| 112.43 (0.69) | 113.32 (1.37) |
Diastolic BP (mmHg)a
| 71.33 (0.21) | 71.96 (0.75) | 71.77 (0.41) | 70.54 (1.02)e
|
eGFR (ml/min) | 106.05 (0.47) | 91.43 (1.21)c
| 103.90 (0.61) | 104.65 (1.66) |
Albumin (g/L)a
| 44.79 (0.17) | 44.16 (0.29)c
| 45.26 (0.15) | 43.49 (0.43)e
|
Haemoglobin (g/L) | 142.51 (0.46) | 140.04 (0.96)c
| 143.09 (0.46) | 138.84 (1.07)e
|
Calcium (mmol/L) | 2.41 (0.00) | 2.43 (0.01)c
| 2.41 (0.00) | 2.39 (0.01)e
|
Phosphate (mmol/L) | 1.25 (0.01) | 1.28 (0.02)c
| 1.23 (0.00) | 1.23 (0.01)e
|
RBC count (10-12/L)a
| 4.66 (0.01) | 4.60 (0.05)b
| 4.67 (0.02) | 4.54 (0.03)e
|
RBC distribution width (%)a
| 12.69 (0.04) | 13.38 (0.09)c
| 12.51 (0.03) | 12.92 (0.09)d
|
Aspartate Aminotransferase (U/L)a
| 27.94 (0.37) | 33.80 (0.90)c
| 28.31 (0.29) | 26.92 (0.72)d
|
HbA1C (%)a
| 5.53% (0.02%) | 6.45% (0.09%)c
| 5.67% (0.04%) | 5.89% (0.07%)e
|
Plasma glucose (mmol/L)a
| 4.99 (0.02) | 6.38 (0.15)c
| 5.08 (0.03) | 5.43 (0.12)e
|
Variable | Frequency of Fried criteria based on Cycles 1 and 2 (n = 7,353) |
---|---|
Exhaustion (% yes) | 2269 (30.9%) |
Physically inactive | 3917 (53.3%) |
Mobility function (gait speed proxy) | 197 (2.7%) |
Unintentional weight loss | 1361 (18.5%) |
Weak grip strength | 409 (5.6%) |
Total number of Fried criteria | |
0 | 2038 (27.7%) |
1 | 3127 (42.5%) |
2 | 1734 (23.6%) |
3 | 369 (5.0%) |
4+ | 112 (1.7%) |
Frailty prevalence across age groups
Variable | 18–49 years (n = 574) | 50–64 years (n = 254) | 65+ years (n = 125) | Chi-Square or ANOVA F-Test
P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 37.90 (1.04) | 57.90 (0.42) | 72.07 (0.26) | <0.001 |
Sex (% male) | 327 (57.0%) | 135 (53.2%) | 60 (47.7%) | 0.399 |
Diabetes | 101 (17.5%) | 104 (41.1%) | 56 (44.5%) | <0.001 |
Thyroid problem | 119 (20.7%) | 53 (20.7%) | 29 (23.5%) | 0.841 |
Cancer | 41 (7.2%) | 61 (24.00%) | 27 (21.3%) | <0.001 |
Strokea
| - | - | - | - |
Heart diseasea
| - | - | - | - |
Arthritis | 136 (23.8%) | 150 (59.0%) | 87 (69.4%) | <0.001 |
Persistent cough | 281 (48.9%) | 85 (33.4%) | 42 (33.3%) | 0.010 |
Known kidney dysfunction | 44 (7.7%) | 23 (9.1%) | 15 (12.3%) | 0.442 |
Poor health | 333 (58.00%) | 143 (56.3%) | 63 (50.1%) | 0.581 |
Poor health compared to 1 year ago | 320 (55.7%) | 114 (44.8%) | 46 (36.9%) | 0.033 |
COPDa
| - | - | - | - |
Asthma | 244 (42.6%) | 62 (24.4%) | 19 (15.4%) | <0.001 |
Liver disease | 51 (8.9%) | 29 (11.0%) | 10 (7.9%) | 0.549 |
Trouble sleeping | 459 (79.9%) | 194 (76.3%) | 85 (67.9%) | 0.213 |
Resting HR (beats/min) | 70.35 (1.17) | 71.08 (1.25) | 65.55 (0.66) | <0.001 |
Systolic BP (mmHg) | 114.53 (2.76) | 120.11 (1.90) | 125.97 (1.27) | <0.001 |
Diastolic BP (mmHg) | 74.52 (1.87) | 73.42 (1.04) | 68.48 (0.60) | <0.001 |
eGFR (ml/min) | 108.62 (2.31) | 94.16 (1.30) | 76.13 (2.15) | <0.001 |
Albumin (g/L) | 45.26 (0.83) | 44.20 (0.35) | 43.33 (0.29) | <0.001 |
Haemoglobin (g/L) | 142.82 (2.44) | 142.02 (0.95) | 135.73 (1.70) | <0.001 |
Calcium (mmol/L) | 2.44 (0.02) | 2.43 (0.01) | 2.42 (0.01) | 0.023 |
Phosphate (mmol/L) | 1.31 (0.03) | 1.30 (0.02) | 1.24 (0.01) | <0.001 |
RBC count (10–12/L) | 4.71 (0.13) | 4.69 (0.08) | 4.43 (0.05) | <0.001 |
RBC distribution width (%) | 13.33 (0.19) | 13.27 (0.18) | 13.54 (0.09) | 0.043 |
Aspartate Aminotransferase (U/L) | 37.09 (2.52) | 34.68 (1.67) | 30.47 (0.87) | <0.001 |
HbA1C (%) | 6.12% (0.15%) | 6.6% (0.15%) | 6.5% (0.08%) | <0.001 |
Plasma glucose (mmol/L) | 5.97 (0.32) | 6.52 (0.25) | 6.50 (0.19) | 0.037 |
Variable | 18–49 years (n = 263) | 50–64 years (n = 142) | 65+ years (n = 77) | Chi-Square
P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Exhaustion (% yes) | 139 (52.9%) | 34 (24.0%) | 8 (11.0%) | <0.001 |
Physical activity (% inactive)a
| - | - | - | <0.001 |
Mobility function (gait speed proxy, % mobility impairment) | 13 (4.9%) | 13 (9.3%) | 7 (9.7%) | <0.001 |
Unintentional weight loss (% yes) | 127 (48.1%) | 29 (20.1%) | 5 (7.1%) | <0.001 |
Weak grip strength (% yes) | 33 (12.6%) | 17 (12.2%) | 9 (11.9%) | <0.001 |