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Prevalence of Frailty in Older Men and Women: Cross-Sectional Data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study

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Abstract

Few studies have investigated the prevalence of frailty in the Australian general population. This study determined the prevalence of frailty in a population-based sample of older adults and examined the relationship between frailty and comorbid conditions. Men (n = 347) and women (n = 360) aged ≥ 60 year from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS) were assessed between 2016–2019 and 2011–2014, respectively. Frailty was identified using a modified Fried frailty phenotype. Prevalence estimates were standardised to the 2011 Australian population. Kruskal–Wallis test and χ2 test were used to analyse data. For women, mean standardised prevalence estimates were 18.3% (14.1–22.5) for frail, 54.1% (47.3–60.8) pre-frail and 22.9% (18.9–26.8) robust. Corresponding estimates for men were 13.1% (9.8–16.3) frail, 47.8% (42.0–53.6) pre-frail and 27.3% (22.7–31.8) robust. Women who were frail were older, shorter, tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and used more medications compared to other groups. Compared to robust women, those who were frail were more likely to have cardio-metabolic (OR 3.5 (0.7–20.0)), pulmonary (OR 3.5 (1.5–8.4)) and musculoskeletal (OR 10.1 (2.1–48.0)) conditions. Frail men were older, had a higher BMI and were more likely to have musculoskeletal conditions (OR 5.8 (2.8–12.3)) and tended to be from a lower SES. No further associations were observed. This study reported the prevalence of frail and pre-frail individuals in a population-based sample of Australian men and women. Frailty was associated with musculoskeletal conditions for both men and women; however, associations with cardio-metabolic and pulmonary comorbidities were evident in women only.

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Data are available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the men and women who participated in the study. The authors thank Professor Graham Giles of the Cancer Epidemiology Centre of The Cancer Council Victoria, for permission to use the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (Version 2), Melbourne: The Cancer Council Victoria, 1996.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (Projects 299831, 251638, 628582). The funding organisation played no role in the design or conduct of the study, in the collection, management, analyses or interpretation of the data, nor in the preparation, review and approval of the manuscript. MCT and SXS were supported by Deakin Postgraduate Scholarships, KLH-K was supported by Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, SBL-O was supported by NHMRC Career Development Fellowships 1107510 and LJW is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (1064272) and a NHMRC Investigator grant (1174060).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epi-Centre for Healthy Ageing, IMPACT-the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine , Deakin University (Barwon Health), PO Box 281, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia

    Monica C. Tembo, Kara L. Holloway-Kew, Sophia X. Sui, Lana J. Williams, Mark A. Kotowicz & Julie A. Pasco

  2. Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Trisha Dunning, Adrian C. H. Low, Shi-Jynn Yong, Boon L. Ng, Mark A. Kotowicz & Julie A. Pasco

  3. Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science, University of Melbourne and Western Health, Melbourne, Australia

    Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen

  4. Department of Medicine-Western Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen, Mark A. Kotowicz & Julie A. Pasco

  5. Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Waterfront Campus, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Julie A. Pasco

  7. Quality and Patient Safety Research, Deakin University and Barwon Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Trisha Dunning

  8. School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Waterfront Campus, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen

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  1. Monica C. Tembo
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  2. Kara L. Holloway-Kew
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Contributions

MCT designed the study, was responsible for statistical analysis of data and prepared the first draft of the paper. She is the guarantor. KLH-K, SXS, MAK and JAP contributed in the acquisition and interpretation of data. TD, ACHL, S-JY, BLN, SLB-O and LJW contributed to the study design. All authors revised the paper critically for intellectual content and approved the final version. All authors agree to be accountable for the work and to ensure that any questions relating to the accuracy and integrity of the paper are investigated and properly resolved.

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Correspondence to Monica C. Tembo.

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Conflict of interest

Monica C. Tembo, Kara L. Holloway-Kew, Sophia X. Sui, Trisha Dunning, Adrian C. H. Low, Shi-Jynn Yong, Boon L. Ng, Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen, Lana J. Williams, Mark A. Kotowicz and Julie A. Pasco have declared that no competing interests exist.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All participants provided written, informed consent.

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Tembo, M.C., Holloway-Kew, K.L., Sui, S.X. et al. Prevalence of Frailty in Older Men and Women: Cross-Sectional Data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Calcif Tissue Int 107, 220–229 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-020-00713-3

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