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Validation of the FRAIL scale in Mexican elderly: results from the Mexican Health and Aging Study

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Abstract

Background

The aging population in Latin America is characterized by not optimal conditions for good health, experiencing high burden of comorbidity, which contribute to increase the frequency of frailty; thus, identification should be a priority, to classify patients at high risk to develop its negative consequences.

Aim

The objective of this analysis was to validate the FRAIL instrument to measure frailty in Mexican elderly population, from the database of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).

Materials and methods

Prospective, population study in Mexico, that included subjects of 60 years and older who were evaluated for the variables of frailty during the year 2001 (first wave of the study). Frailty was measured with the five-item FRAIL scale (fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and weight loss). The robust, pre-frail or intermediate, and the frail group were considered when they had zero, one, and at least two components, respectively. Mortality, hospitalizations, falls, and functional dependency were evaluated during 2003 (second wave of the study). Relative risk was calculated for each complications, as well as hazard ratio (for mortality) through Cox regression model and odds ratio with logistic regression (for the rest of the outcomes), adjusted for covariates.

Results

The state of frailty was independently associated with mortality, hospitalizations, functional dependency, and falls. The pre-frailty state was only independently associated with hospitalizations, functional dependency, and falls.

Conclusions

Frailty measured through the FRAIL scale, is associated with an increase in the rate of mortality, hospitalizations, dependency in activities of daily life, and falls.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad, Hospital de Traumatología y Ortopedia No. 21, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Enrique Díaz de León González, Deborah Patricia Salinas Garza & Karina Alejandra Rodriguez Quintanilla

  2. Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad, Centro Médico Nacional del Bajío, Hospital de Especialidades, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, León, Guanajuato, Mexico

    Hugo Gutiérrez Hermosillo

  3. Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad, Hospital de Especialidades No. 71, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico

    Jesus Avilio Martinez Beltran

  4. Coordinación Técnica de Excelencia Clínica, Coordinación de UMAE, Dirección de Prestaciones Médicas, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México, Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Juan Humberto Medina Chavez

  5. Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Mexico

    Rebeca Palacios Corona

Authors
  1. Enrique Díaz de León González
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  2. Hugo Gutiérrez Hermosillo
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  3. Jesus Avilio Martinez Beltran
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  4. Juan Humberto Medina Chavez
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  5. Rebeca Palacios Corona
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  6. Deborah Patricia Salinas Garza
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  7. Karina Alejandra Rodriguez Quintanilla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karina Alejandra Rodriguez Quintanilla.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

All the participants of the study gave their informed consent at the time of the interview.

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Díaz de León González, E., Gutiérrez Hermosillo, H., Martinez Beltran, J.A. et al. Validation of the FRAIL scale in Mexican elderly: results from the Mexican Health and Aging Study. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 901–908 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0497-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0497-y

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