Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #100546

Jean Woo, MA, MD, FRCP¹, Bill Goggins, ScD², Aprille Sham², and Suzanne Ho, PhD³. (1) Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, (2) School of Public Health, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, 852-9253-1205, wgoggins@cuhk.edu.hk, (3) Department of Community and Family Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

Background: A quantifiable indicator of frailty would be useful in assessing the health state of older populations and evaluating the effect of interventions over time. Methods: 2032 subjects aged 70 years and over were recruited in Hong Kong using stratified random sampling, and information was obtained from them via questionnaire regarding their physical, psychological and functional health at baseline, and 3 and 10 year follow-ups. A frailty index was constructed using 62 binary variables, each representing the presence or absence of a physical or mental health deficit. The index for an individual patient was defined as the proportion of the 62 deficits that individual had. Associations between this frailty index, and changes in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, mental score, and hospitalization days were evaluated using correlations, multiple linear regression, and ordinal logistic regression. Results: A 10% increase in baseline frailty index was accompanied, on average, by a 0.50 point faster drop in ADL score (p < .0005), a 0.22 point faster decline in mental score (p = .020), and 0.46 day faster increase in hospital days (p < .0005) between baseline and three years follow-up. Patients with higher baseline frailty indexes were also significantly more likely to develop new diseases between baseline and 3 years follow-up. For 3 to 10 year changes, baseline frailty index was a significant predictor only of a faster drop in mental score. Conclusion: The frailty index is a valid predictor of future morbidity and requirements for health and social services for ageing populations.

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