Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29924297›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2019

A Frailty Index for UK Biobank Participants.

Dylan M Williams, Juulia Jylhävä, Nancy L Pedersen, Sara Hägg

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
130citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

130 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Mediators of attachment, frailty, and mild cognitive impairment in older adults.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2026
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  10. The association of frailty with age and lifespan in mice differs by strain and sex.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
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  13. Development and validation of an electronic health record-based frailty index in the UK Biobank.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
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70 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

4 authors.

Dylan M WilliamsDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Juulia JylhäväDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Nancy L PedersenDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sara HäggDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_17228Medical Research Council MC_QA137853
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFrailty indices (FIs) measure variation in health between aging individuals. Researching FIs in resources with large-scale genetic and phenotypic data will provide insights into the causes and consequences of frailty. Thus, we aimed to develop an FI using UK Biobank data, a cohort study of 500,000 middle-aged and older adults.

methodsAn FI was calculated using 49 self-reported questionnaire items on traits covering health, presence of diseases and disabilities, and mental well-being, according to standard protocol. We used multiple imputation to derive FI values for the entire eligible sample in the presence of missing item data (N = 500,336). To validate the measure, we assessed associations of the FI with age, sex, and risk of all-cause mortality (follow-up ≤ 9.7 years) using linear and Cox proportional hazards regression models.

resultsMean FI in the cohort was 0.125 (SD = 0.075), and there was a curvilinear trend toward higher values in older participants. FI values were also marginally higher on average in women than in men. In survival models, 10% higher baseline frailty (ie, a 0.1 FI increment) was associated with higher risk of death (hazard ratio = 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.62-1.68). Associations were stronger in younger participants than in older participants, and in men than in women (hazard ratios: 1.72 vs. 1.56, respectively).

conclusionsThe FI is a valid measure of frailty in UK Biobank. The cohort's data are open access for researchers to use, and we provide script for deriving this tool to facilitate future studies on frailty.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overBiological Specimen BanksCohort StudiesFemaleFrailtyHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMaleMiddle AgedProportional Hazards ModelsSelf ReportSeverity of Illness IndexUnited KingdomBiological agingFrailtyLongevityMortality

Identifiers

PMID29924297
PMCPMC6417451

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Registered trials

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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.