Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26674984›Full record

ReviewAgeing research reviews2016

Frailty assessment instruments: Systematic characterization of the uses and contexts of highly-cited instruments.

Brian J Buta, Jeremy D Walston, Job G Godino, Minsun Park, Rita R Kalyani, Qian-Li Xue, Karen Bandeen-Roche, Ravi Varadhan

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Ageing research reviews, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 382 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
382citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
22.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

382 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 850 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Association Between Frailty and Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing · 2026
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  8. Health-related quality of life measures provide information on the contributors, components, and consequences of frailty in HIV: a systematic mapping review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024
    Pooled it
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  13. The prevalence of frailty among breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    Pooled it
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322 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Brian J ButaJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Jeremy D WalstonJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Job G GodinoCenter for Wireless and Population Health Systems, University of CA, San Diego, United States; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Minsun ParkBloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Rita R KalyaniJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Qian-Li XueJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Karen Bandeen-RocheJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Ravi VaradhanJohns Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center and the Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Oncology, Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States. Electronic address: ravi.varadhan@jhu.edu.
Johns Hopkins University · US

Funding

Technological Assessment and Solutions Core - RC4P30AG021334 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Jeremy D Walston · 2003 to 2026
$33.2M
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND BIOSTATISTICS OF AGINGT32AG000247 · NIA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Karen J. Bandeen-Roche · 1996 to 2026
$13.2M
Glucose Insulin and Muscle LossK23DK093583 · NIDDK · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KALYANI, RITA R · 2012 to 2015
$635k
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG021334NIA NIH HHS P30AG021334NIA NIH HHS T32 AG000247NIA NIH HHS T32AG000247NIDDK NIH HHS K23 DK093583NIDDK NIH HHS K23DK093583
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The medical syndrome of frailty is widely recognized, yet debate remains over how best to measure it in clinical and research settings. This study reviewed the frailty-related research literature by (a) comprehensively cataloging the wide array of instruments that have been utilized to measure frailty, and (b) systematically categorizing the different purposes and contexts of use for frailty instruments frequently cited in the research literature. We identified 67 frailty instruments total; of these, nine were highly-cited (≥ 200 citations). We randomly sampled and reviewed 545 English-language articles citing at least one highly-cited instrument. We estimated the total number of uses, and classified use into eight categories: risk assessment for adverse health outcomes (31% of all uses); etiological studies of frailty (22%); methodology studies (14%); biomarker studies (12%); inclusion/exclusion criteria (10%); estimating prevalence as primary goal (5%); clinical decision-making (2%); and interventional targeting (2%). The most common assessment context was observational studies of older community-dwelling adults. Physical Frailty Phenotype was the most used frailty instrument in the research literature, followed by the Deficit Accumulation Index and the Vulnerable Elders Survey. This study provides an empirical evaluation of the current uses of frailty instruments, which may be important to consider when selecting instruments for clinical or research purposes. We recommend careful consideration in the selection of a frailty instrument based on the intended purpose, domains captured, and how the instrument has been used in the past. Continued efforts are needed to study the validity and feasibility of these instruments.

Indexed as

Aged, 80 and overFrail ElderlyGeriatric AssessmentHumansPrevalencePublic Health SurveillanceRisk AssessmentFrailty assessmentInstrumentOperational definitionReview

Identifiers

PMID26674984
PMCPMC4806795
OpenAlexW2192432564

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.