Explaining frailty by lifestyle

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether the effects of lifestyle factors on frailty can be adequately addressed by asking a single self-report question.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: A sample of Dutch citizens completed the web-based questionnaire "Seniorenbarometer".

Participants: 610 persons aged 50 years and older.

Measurements: Seven lifestyle factors were assessed: smoking, use of alcohol, intake of vegetables, intake of fruit, having breakfast, exercise, and teeth brushing. The single self-report question of lifestyle was: "Overall, how healthy would you say your lifestyle is?" Frailty was measured by the Tilburg Frailty Indicator.

Results: Age was positively associated with a healthy lifestyle (less smoking, more intake of vegetables, fruit and eating breakfast). The lifestyle factors did not improve the prediction of total, physical, psychological, and social frailty, after controlling for the single self-report question.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that one general self-report lifestyle question, rather than a list of specific lifestyle factors, suffices for predicting frailty.

Keywords: Frailty; Lifestyle; Tilburg frailty indicator.