Description of frail older people profiles according to four screening tools applied in primary care settings: a cross sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Regarding the health care of older populations, WHO recommends shifting from disease-driven attention models towards a personalized, integrated and continuous care aimed to the maintenance and enhancement of functional capacities. Impairments in the construct of functional intrinsic capacity have been understood as the condition of frailty or vulnerability. No consensus has been yet reached regarding which tools are the most suitable for screening this kind of patients in primary care settings. Tools based on the measurement of functional performance such as Timed up and go test (TUG), Short Physical Performance battery (SPPB), self-completed questionnaires like Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and clinical judgement, as the Gerontopole Frailty Scale (GFS) may be adequate. The objective of this work is to describe and compare characteristics of community-dwelling individuals identified as vulnerable or frail by four tools applied in primary care settings. METHODS: Cross sectional analysis developed in primary care services in two regions of Spain. Community-dwelling independent individuals aged 70 or more willing to participate were recruited and data was collected via face-to-face interviews. Frailty was assessed by TUG, SPPB, TFI and GFST. Also socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits and health status data (comorbidities, polypharmacy, self-perceived health), were collected. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster analysis were used to identify groups of individuals with similar characteristics. RESULTS: Eight hundred sixty-five individuals were recruited, 53% women, with a mean age of 78 years. Four clusters of participants emerge. Cluster 1 (N = 263) contained patients categorized as robust by most of the studied tools, whereas clusters 2 (N = 199), 3 (N = 183) and 4 (N = 220) grouped patients classified as frail or vulnerable by at least one of the tools. Significant differences were found between clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The assessed tools identify different profiles of patients according to their theoretical construct of frailty. There is a group of patients that are identified by TUG and SPPB but not by GFS or TFI. These tools may be useful in primary care settings for the implementation of a function- driven clinical care of older patients.

Prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling elderly persons in Spain and factors associated with it.

Background: For effective prevention and intervention, and reduction of dependency, it is essential to determine the presence of frailty in the community.Objectives: To describe the prevalence of frailty among elderly persons living independently, in two primary healthcare areas in Spain; to identify factors correlated with its presence.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2015 and July 2016 among non-institutionalized individuals aged ≥70 years living in the primary healthcare areas of Gipuzkoa and Costa del Sol (Spain). The main outcome variable was the prevalence of frailty (determined by modified Fried criteria). The independent study variables were sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric data and health-related life habits.Results: The study population consisted of 855 individuals (53% women). The overall prevalence of frailty was 26.2% (Gipuzkoa 14.2%, Costa del Sol 38.0%). Using multiple logistic regression, the following factors were associated with frailty: female sex (OR: 1.98; 95%CI: 1.37-2.86); cumulative illness rating scale (OR: 1.05; 95%CI: 1.00-1.10); self-perceived health status (OR: 0.96; 95%CI: 0.95-0.97); self-perceived unhealthy lifestyle (OR: 3.37; 95%CI: 2.05-8.87); dissatisfaction with the domestic environment (OR: 2.11; 95%CI: 1.18-3.76); and cognitive impairment (OR: 4.10; 95%CI: 2.05-8.19). In the multivariable model, 'geographical area' differences persisted, with an OR of 3.51 (95%CI: 2.29-5.36) for the Costa del Sol area, using Gipuzkoa as reference.Conclusion: In this population of community-dwelling persons aged 70 years and over, the prevalence of frailty was 26%. Factors correlated with frailty were female sex, comorbidity, poorer self-perceived lifestyle and health status, and dissatisfaction with the domestic environment.

Validation and comparison of instruments to identify frail patientes in primary care settings: Study protocol.

BACKGROUND: In the last few years several indices and tools, aimed at identifying frail subjects in various care settings have been developed. However, to date none of them has been incorporated into usual practice in the primary care setting. The purposes of this study are: 1) to evaluate the predictive capacity of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI), the Gérontopôle Frailty Screening Tool (GFST) and the KoS model together with two biomarker levels (SOX2 and p16INK4a) for adverse events related to frailty; 2) to determine differences in the use of healthcare services according to frailty. METHODS/DESIGN: Prospective multicentre cohort study with a 2-year follow-up. The study will be performed in primary care centres of Gipuzkoa and Costa del Sol, both located in Spain. Autonomous, non-institutionalized individuals aged 70 and over that agree to participate in this study will constitute the study population. A total of 900 individuals will be randomly selected from the healthcare administrative data bases of the participating health services. Data will be collected at baseline and at 1 and 2 years. The main independent variables assessed at baseline will be TFI outcomes, GFST and the KoS model, together with the expression of SOX2 and p16INK4a levels. During follow-up, loss of autonomy, the occurrence of death and consumption of healthcare resources will be assessed. DISCUSSION: The main focus of this work is the identification and evaluation of several instruments constructed under different rationales to identify frail subjects in primary care settings. The resulting outcomes have potential for direct application to the primary care practice. Early identification of the onset of functional impairment of elderly is an essential, still unresolved aspect in the prevention of dependence in the scope of primary care.

Factors associated with frailty in primary care: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Frailty can be defined as a progressive loss of reserve and adaptive capacity associated with an overall deterioration in health that can result in disability, loss of independence, hospitalisation, extensive use of healthcare resources, admission to long-term care and death. Nevertheless, despite widespread use of the term, there is no agreement on the definition of frailty or an instrument to identify it in a straightforward way. The purpose of the current study was to explore which factors are associated with frailty-related adverse outcomes in elderly individuals and to propose a suitable tool for identifying such individuals, particularly in primary care settings. METHODS: A prospective open cohort study of community dwelling, independent individuals aged 75 or over, followed up for 2 years. The study was entirely conducted in a primary care setting. Study variables included independence status measured by Barthel's Index and the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, functional performance, assessed by Timed Up and Go (TUG) and Gait Speed (GS) tests and levels of polipharmacy, comorbidity and social support. Outcome variables were specific frailty-related adverse events, namely, loss of independence and death. RESULTS: Overall, 215 community-dwelling independent individuals initiated the study. Of these, 46 were lost to follow-up and 50 had frailty-related adverse events during the follow-up period. Individuals with adverse events during the study had poorer functional status at baseline. The multivariate model that best explained the occurrence of these events included the variables of age, presence of polipharmacy and the TUG time. The AUC (Area under the curve) of this model was 0.822. CONCLUSIONS: Given the simplicity of assessing the three derived factors and their combined discriminant power, the proposed model may be considered a suitable tool for identifying frail patients, i.e., people more likely to lose their independence or die within a relatively short time interval.