Transitions in Frailty States Over Six Years
Author Information
Author(s): Jung Heeeun, Shin Hyung Eun, Lee Daehyun, Jang Jae Young, Cho Hyunjin, Lim Nahyun, Won Chang Won, Kim Miji
Primary Institution: Kyung Hee University
Hypothesis
The transitions between frailty states, including their progression and reversibility, remain unclear in Korea.
Conclusion
Understanding the dynamic changes between frailty states and the sociodemographic factors influencing these changes may offer opportunities to reverse frailty progression.
Supporting Evidence
- Over a mean follow-up period of 4.6 years, a total of 5,942 frailty state transitions were observed.
- 61.5% of transitions were maintained, 22.9% worsened, and 15.6% improved.
- The 1-year progression probability to pre-frail was higher than the probability of moving to frail (20.2% vs. 0.9%).
- Pre-frail individuals were more likely to revert to robust than frail individuals (17.7% vs. 2.6%).
- The 1-year transition to death was highest for those in the frail state compared to other states.
Takeaway
This study looked at how older adults in Korea move between different levels of frailty over six years, finding that many can improve their health.
Methodology
A 6-year follow-up analysis using multi-state Markov models to estimate transition probabilities among older adults.
Participant Demographics
52.0% women; mean age 76.5 ± 3.9 years.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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