Prevalence of multidimensional frailty among community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yiming Qiu; Guichen Li; Xinxin Wang; Wei Liu; Xin Li; Yali Yang; Lisheng Wang; Li Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2024.104755

Prevalence of multidimensional frailty among community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Int J Nurs Stud. 2024 Mar 14:154:104755. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2024.104755. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yiming Qiu¹, Guichen Li², Xinxin Wang³, Wei Liu⁴, Xin Li⁵, Yali Yang⁶, Lisheng Wang⁷, Li Chen⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: qiuym01@126.com.
² School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: lgc@jlu.edu.cn.
³ The First Hospital of Jilin University, 1 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, China. Electronic address: wxxjtl@126.com.
⁴ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: weiliu19830129@hotmail.com.
⁵ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: x972068206@163.com.
⁶ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: yyl22@mails.jlu.edu.cn.
⁷ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China. Electronic address: lishengwang@jlu.edu.cn.
⁸ School of Nursing, Jilin University, No. 965 Xinjiang Street, Changchun, Jilin 130021, China; Department of Pharmacology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China. Electronic address: chenl@jlu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38522186
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2024.104755

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this systematic review were to explore the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty assessed by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator among community-dwelling older adults.

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL and three Chinese databases. Two independent researchers selected the literatures, extracted the data and evaluated the quality. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 16.0.

Results: There were 66 studies with a total of 40,597 individuals that were eligible for the meta-analysis. Data from the meta-analysis revealed the pooled prevalence of 42 % for multidimensional frailty (95 % CI: 38 %-45 %, I² = 98.9 %, T² = 0.024, p < 0.001). Among the six studies that provided data for different age groups, the results demonstrated an increasing trend in the prevalence of multidimensional frailty with advancing age. The results of gender-stratified analysis proved that the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty in women (45 %, 95 % CI: 39 %-51 %, p < 0.001) was higher than that in men (33 %, 95 % CI: 28 %-39 %, p < 0.001). Based on different education levels, the prevalence of multidimensional frailty is highest in the primary elementary or illiterate group (41 %, 95 % CI: 30 %-52 %, p < 0.001). According to different marital status types, the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty in the married group was significantly lower (36 %, 95 % CI: 28 %-43 %) than that in the unmarried, divorced or widowed group (51 %, 95 % CI: 37 %-65 %).

Conclusions: Through a comprehensive review, we identified that 42 % of elderly individuals living in communities exhibit multidimensional frailty, indicating that multidimensional frailty is relatively common in this population. Stratified analysis revealed that advanced age, female gender, lower education level and unmarried status were associated with higher rates of multidimensional frailty.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; Multidimensional frailty; Older adults; Prevalence; Systematic review.

Publication types

Review