Archives of gerontology and geriatrics | 2019
Frailty phenotype, frailty index and risk of mortality in Chinese elderly population- Rugao longevity and ageing study.
Abstract
BACKGROUND\nTo explore the associations of frailty phenotype and frailty index (FI) defined frailty and pre-frailty with mortality in a Chinese elderly population.\n\n\nMETHODS\nData of 1788 community-dwelling elders aged 70-84 years from the ageing arm of Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study, a prospective cohort study, were used. Frailty phenotype was defined using modified Fried s phenotype (FP) criteria and FI was constructed using 45 health deficits. Mortality was ascertained using the Death Registry of Rugao s Civil Affairs Bureau.\n\n\nRESULTS\nDuring 3-year follow-up, 149 (8.3%) of the 1788 elderly subjects died. For frailty phenotype, about 9.5% of the elderly were frail and 43% were pre-frail. For FI, frail (FI\u2009>\u20090.21) was approximately 27.5%, and pre-frail (FI: 0.1-0.21) was approximately 51.3%. Highest mortality was observed among frail participants defined by both FP and FI criteria (all Log Rank P\u2009<\u20090.05). Frailty defined by the frailty index was associated with a 2.31 fold (95% CI 1.16-4.6) risk of all-cause death compared with robust elderly. Compared with the robust elderly, not only frailty (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.31-3.83) defined by frailty phenotype but also pre-frailty (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.03-2.21) was associated with risk of all-cause mortality.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nFrailty, defined by either phenotype or index, is associated with increased risks of mortality in elderly Chinese community population.