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. 2019 Nov 13;74(12):1980-1986.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/glz155.

Functional Aging Index Complements Frailty in Prediction of Entry Into Care and Mortality

Deborah Finkel  1   2 , Ola Sternäng  2   3 , Juulia Jylhävä  4 , Ge Bai  4 , Nancy L Pedersen  4   5
Affiliations

Functional Aging Index Complements Frailty in Prediction of Entry Into Care and Mortality

Deborah Finkel et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to develop a functional aging index (FAI) that taps four body systems: sensory (vision and hearing), pulmonary, strength (grip strength), and movement (gait speed) and to test the predictive value of FAI for entry into care and mortality.

Method: Growth curve models and Cox regression models were applied to data from 1,695 individuals from three Swedish longitudinal studies of aging. Participants were aged 45-93 at intake and data from up to eight follow-up waves were available.

Results: The rate of change in FAI was twice as fast after age 75 as before, women demonstrated higher mean FAI, but no sex differences in rates of change with chronological age were identified. FAI predicted entry into care and mortality, even when chronological age and a frailty index were included in the models. Hazard ratios indicated that FAI was a more important predictor of entry into care for men than women, whereas it was a stronger predictor of mortality for men than women.

Conclusions: Measures of biological aging and functional aging differ in their predictive value for entry into care and mortality for men and women, suggesting that both are necessary for a complete picture of the aging process across genders.

Keywords: Gender; Latent growth curve; Survival analysis.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Aging trajectories for functional aging index (FAI) estimated from the latent growth curve model: women versus men. (b) Aging trajectories for within-twin pair and between-twin pair variance estimated from the latent growth curve model: women versus men.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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