Highlights
- •Frailty is a commonly used approach to the health status of older people.
- •Frailty increases the likelihood of adverse health outcomes.
- •Frailty profiles have been identified among relatively young seniors.
- •Frailty could be detected in young seniors to prevent adverse health outcomes.
Abstract
Objectives
We sought to identify frailty profiles in individuals aged 50–75 by considering frailty
as an unobservable latent variable in a latent class analysis (LCA).
Study design
589 prospectively enrolled community-dwelling individuals aged 50–75 (median: 61.7
years) had undergone a standardized, multidomain assessment in 2010–2015. Adverse
health outcomes (non-accidental falls, fractures, unplanned hospitalizations, and
death) that had occurred since the assessment were recorded in 2016–2017.
Main outcome measures
The LCA used nine indicators (unintentional weight loss, relative slowness, weakness,
impaired balance, osteoporosis, impaired cognitive functions, executive dysfunction,
depression, and hearing impairment) and three covariates (age, gender, and consultation
for health complaints). The resulting profiles were characterized by the Fried phenotype
and adverse health outcomes.
Results
We identified five profiles: “fit” (LC1, 29.7% of the participants; median age: 59
years); “weight loss, relative slowness, and osteoporosis” (LC2, 33.2%; 63 years);
“weakness and osteopenia” (LC3, 21.9%; 60 years); “impaired physical and executive
functions” (LC4, 11%; 67 years); and “impaired balance, cognitive functions, and depression”
(LC5, 4.3%; 70 years). Almost all members of LC3 and LC4 were female, and were more
likely than members of other profiles to have a frail or pre-frail Fried phenotype.
Non-accidental falls were significantly more frequent in LC4. LC5 (almost all males)
had the highest number of comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors but none was
frail.
Conclusions
Our data-driven approach covered most geriatric assessment domains and identified
five frailty profiles. With a view to tailoring interventions and prevention, frailty
needs to be detected among young seniors.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 20, 2019
Accepted:
May 13,
2019
Received in revised form:
April 24,
2019
Received:
December 11,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
