Observational studyBMJ open2019
Prevalence of frailty in older adults in outpatient physiotherapy in an urban region in the western part of Germany: a cross-sectional study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence of Prefrailty and Frailty Among Older Adults in Germany: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Medication Use by Older Adults with Frailty: A Scoping Review.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- Frailty Phenotype Prevalence in Community-Dwelling Older Adults According to Physical Activity Assessment Method.Clinical interventions in aging · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the prevalence of frailty in older people in outpatient physiotherapy services in an urban region in the western part of Germany.
designCross-sectional study.
settingOutpatient physiotherapy clinics were recruited in the municipal area of the city of Bochum, Germany, and selected randomly.
participantsOlder adults aged 65 years and older seeking outpatient physiotherapy. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of frailty was assessed based on the frailty phenotype model of physical frailty and the accumulation of deficit model, expressed as a Frailty Index. Prevalence was calculated for the whole sample and according to age-related, sex-related and diagnosis-related subgroups.
resultsA total of 258 participants (74±6 years, 62% female) from 11 out of 130 (8%) different physiotherapy clinics were included. Participants' main indication for physiotherapy was an orthopaedic or surgical condition (75%). According to the model of a physical frailty phenotype, 17.8% (95% CI 13.2 to 22.5) participants were frail and 43.4% (95% CI 37.4 to 49.5) were prefrail. The Frailty Index identified 31.0% (95% CI 25.4 to 36.7) of individuals as frail. In both models, prevalence increased with age and was higher in women than in men. Slow gait speed (34%), reduced muscle strength (34%) and exhaustion (28%) were the most prevalent indicators of physical frailty.
conclusionsFrailty is comparatively common in older patients attending physiotherapy care in Germany, with one out of three individuals being frail and every second individual being physically frail or prefrail. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00009384; Results.
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