Longitudinal Measures of Frailty and Mortality
Author Information
Author(s): Seligman Benjamin
Primary Institution: University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
Hypothesis
How do repeated measurements of frailty relate to mortality in older adults?
Conclusion
The maximum and most recent values of frailty are strongly associated with mortality.
Supporting Evidence
- The strongest association for the frailty index (FI) was its maximum value with a hazard ratio of 1.67.
- For the Fried frailty phenotype (FFP), the mean value had a hazard ratio of 1.56.
- HRs for the most recent, maximum, and mean values of FI and FFP were similar in magnitude.
- LASSO regression identified maximum, most recent, and standard deviation values of FI as significant.
- Maximum and most recent values of frailty are most strongly associated with mortality.
Takeaway
Doctors can use the latest frailty assessment to understand how likely older adults are to face health issues, and even if someone gets better, it might not mean they will live longer.
Methodology
Used Health and Retirement Study data to calculate frailty index values and assessed their association with mortality using Cox regression and LASSO regression.
Participant Demographics
Older adults, with adjustments for age, gender, and smoking status.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
1.60-1.74 for FI maximum value; 1.44-1.70 for FFP mean value.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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