Consistency in the prevalence and associated factors of frailty determined by two instruments among hospitalised older adults: A cross-sectional study

Xingfeng Yu; Nana Wang; Dan Wang; Yunmiao Ma; Hongmei Liu; Jia Fu; Cuixiang Xu; Yang Sun; Yulian Zhang

doi:10.1111/jocn.16386

Consistency in the prevalence and associated factors of frailty determined by two instruments among hospitalised older adults: A cross-sectional study

J Clin Nurs. 2023 Jun;32(11-12):2813-2826. doi: 10.1111/jocn.16386. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Authors

Xingfeng Yu¹, Nana Wang², Dan Wang^{1

3}, Yunmiao Ma¹, Hongmei Liu¹, Jia Fu⁴, Cuixiang Xu^{2

5}, Yang Sun⁶, Yulian Zhang⁷

Affiliations

¹ The Nursing Department, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.
² The Central Laboratory, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.
³ School of Public Health, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, P. R. China.
⁴ The Surgery Department, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.
⁵ Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Infection and Immune Diseases, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.
⁶ The Medical Department, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.
⁷ The Director's Office, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, P. R. China.

PMID: 35650678
DOI: 10.1111/jocn.16386

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To investigate the consistency in the prevalence and associated factors of frailty determined by the physical-originated Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses and Loss of weight (FRAIL) scale and the multidimensional Tilburg Frailty Indicators (TFI) scale.

Background: Accurate assessment of frailty and the identification of its associated factors could guide the development and implementation of holistic and individualised treatment plan. However, recommendations regarding the selection of frailty assessment tools are inconclusive.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study, the reporting of which followed the STROBE guidelines.

Methods: A total of 1220 older adults were recruited from a university affiliated tertiary hospital in Xi'an City, Northwest China, and administrated with a social-demographic and health-related information sheet, the FRAIL, the TFI, the Short-Form Mini-Nutritional Assessment, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the 5-level EuroQol 5 dimensions questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the prevalence of frailty and its associated factors.

Results: The prevalence of physical-originated and multidimensional frailty was 55.2% and 77.6%, respectively. The consistency between the two scales was low. Taking the combined use of the two instruments as the reference, the TFI and FRAIL could identify 89.99% and 64.02% of the participants with frailty. Polypharmacy, health-related quality of life and sleep quality were found to be associated with both physical-originated and multidimensional frailty. Nutritional status and level of physical activity were additionally identified as the independent associated factors of multidimensional frailty.

Conclusions: The prevalence of frailty among hospitalised older adults is high. There is low consistency between the FRAIL and TFI in detecting frailty. The TFI exhibited higher sensitivity in detecting individuals with frailty and its associated factors.

Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of this study supported a single use of the TFI for the assessment of frailty in the hospital setting.

Keywords: associated factors; frailty; hospital setting; older adults; prevalence.

MeSH terms

Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Frail Elderly
Frailty* / diagnosis
Frailty* / epidemiology
Geriatric Assessment / methods
Humans
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Surveys and Questionnaires

Abstract

MeSH terms

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