Association of Frailty With Recovery From Disability Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Results From Two Large U.S. Cohorts
Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Disability in activities of daily living (ADLs) is a dynamic process and transitions among different disability states are common. However, little is known about factors affecting recovery from disability. We examined the association between frailty and recovery from disability among nondisabled community-dwelling elders. METHODS: We studied 1,023 adults from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and 685 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), who were ≥65 years and had incident disability, defined as having difficulty in ≥1 ADL (dressing, eating, toileting, bathing, transferring, walking across a room). Disability recovery was defined as having no difficulty in any ADLs. Frailty was assessed by slowness, weakness, exhaustion, inactivity, and shrinking. Persons were classified as "nonfrail" (0 criteria), "prefrail" (1-2 criteria), or "frail" (3-5 criteria). RESULTS: In total, 539 (52.7%) CHS participants recovered from disability within 1 year. Almost two-thirds of nonfrail persons recovered, while less than two-fifths of the frail recovered. In the HRS, 234 (34.2%) participants recovered from disability within 2 years. Approximately half of the nonfrail recovered, while less than one-fifth of the frail recovered. After adjustment, prefrail and frail CHS participants were 16% and 36% less likely to recover than the nonfrail, respectively. In the HRS, frail persons had a 41% lower likelihood of recovery than the nonfrail. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is an independent predictor of poor recovery from disability among nondisabled older adults. These findings validate frailty as a marker of decreased resilience and may offer opportunities for individualized interventions and geriatric care based on frailty assessment.
Language: English
Topic: Frailty in Older Adults
Subfield: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: John A. Hartford Foundation, American Federation for Aging Research, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Atlantic Philanthropies, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Awards: G1023702118, G1097528416, G125972088, CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND STROKE, CORONARY HEART DISEASE &STROKE IN PEOPLE AGED 65-84, G1401438683, G1438302022, CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND STROKE, Development and Validation of a Frailty Index Using Claims Data for Pharmacoepidemiologic Studies in Older Adults, G1726490033, G1907275479, G2131364533, CORONARY HEART DISEASE &STROKE IN PEOPLE AGED 65-84, G2376260599, G2404385439, CORONARY HEART DISEASE &STROKE IN THE ELDERLY, G270907595, G2800149121, G2899267414, G3007488127, G3137375862, G3220743633, G322252321, G34347772, CHS research resources for the cardiovascular health of older adults, CENTRAL BLOOD ANALYSIS LABORATORY FOR CHS, Frailty Assessment: Matching Simplification Efforts to Clinical Aims, G4219624527, G423252844, G4622379297, G4942589162, G5145575165, G5251985303, G544148272, G5479317095, G5659566681, CHS Events Follow-up Study, G6706757010, G7217924807, G7244861316, G7415749889, G764651519, G766700449, G766843672, Exceptional Survival: Trajectories to Functional Aging (CHS All Stars), G806768229, G8068269535, G8260701975, CHS-Transition Phase -268055222, G8892155751, G9000027259, G9000046001, G9000069887, G9000124008, G9000139054, G9000155215, Boston OAIC: A Translational Approach to Function Promoting Therapies, Regional Oncology Research Center, G905887895
OpenAlex ID: W2801589633