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Review
. 2016 Aug 8;11(8):e0160019.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160019. eCollection 2016.

Prevalence of Frailty in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fabiana Araújo Figueiredo Da Mata  1 , Priscilla Perez da Silva Pereira  2 , Keitty Regina Cordeiro de Andrade  1 , Ana Claudia Morais Godoy Figueiredo  2 , Marcus Tolentino Silva  3 , Maurício Gomes Pereira  1
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

Prevalence of Frailty in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fabiana Araújo Figueiredo Da Mata et al. PLoS One. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Background: Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have experienced a rapid increase in their proportion of older people. This region is marked by a high prevalence of chronic diseases and disabilities among aging adults. Frailty appears in the context of LAC negatively affecting quality of life among many older people.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older people in LAC through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A literature search was performed in indexed databases and in the grey literature. Studies investigating the prevalence of frailty with representative samples of community-dwelling older people in Latin America and the Caribbean were retrieved. Independent investigators carried out the study selection process and the data extraction. A meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed using STATA 11 software. The systematic review was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews under the number CRD42014015203.

Results: A total of 29 studies and 43,083 individuals were included in the systematic review. The prevalence of frailty was 19.6% (95% CI: 15.4-24.3%) in the investigated region, with a range of 7.7% to 42.6% in the studies reviewed. The year of data collection influenced the heterogeneity between the studies.

Conclusion: Frailty is very common among older people in LAC. As a result, countries in the region need to adapt their health and social care systems to demands of an older population.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flowchart of the study selection process.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Meta-analysis of the prevalence of frailty in LAC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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