Frailty prevalence in Australia: Findings from four pooled Australian cohort studies

Abstract

Objective: To examine frailty prevalence in Australian older adults.

Methods: Frailty was measured using a modified Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) in a combined cohort of 8804 Australian adults aged ≥65 years (female 86%, median age 80 (79-82) years) from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing Project and the North West Adelaide Health Study.

Results: Using the FFP, 21% of participants were frail while a further 48% were prefrail. Chi-squared testing of frailty among four age groups (65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80-84 years) for sex, and marital status revealed that frailty was significantly higher for women (approximately double that of men), increased significantly with advancing age for both sexes, and was significantly higher for women who were widowed, divorced or never married.

Conclusion: If frailty could be prevented or reversed, it would have an impact on a larger number of older people.

Keywords: Australia; cohort studies; epidemiologic measurements; frail older adults; prevalence.