Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34120182›Full record

ArticleAge and ageing2021

Frailty trajectories in three longitudinal studies of aging: Is the level or the rate of change more predictive of mortality?

Ge Bai, Agnieszka Szwajda, Yunzhang Wang, Xia Li, Hannah Bower, Ida K Karlsson, Boo Johansson, Anna K Dahl Aslan, Nancy L Pedersen, Sara Hägg and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Age and ageing, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed
–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

30 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Frailty, polypharmacy, deprescribing, and 23-hour activity: insights from a mouse model.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Temporal Dynamics of Epigenetic Aging and Frailty From Midlife to Old Age.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Age-related behavioral resilience in smartphone touchscreen interaction dynamics.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Reliability of the Frailty Index Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024
    Article
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

11 authors.

Ge BaiDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Agnieszka SzwajdaDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Yunzhang WangDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Xia LiDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Hannah BowerClinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ida K KarlssonDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Boo JohanssonDepartment of Psychology, Centre for Ageing and Health (AgeCap), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anna K Dahl AslanDepartment 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.
Juulia JylhäväDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Funding

GENETIC &ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES--BIOBEHAVIORAL AGINGR01AG010175 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI PEDERSEN, NANCY L · 1992 to 2006
$2.8M
Cholesterol metabolism pathway: Cognitive change and Alzheimer's disease riskR01AG028555 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE · PI REYNOLDS, CHANDRA A · 2007 to 2010
$1.1M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG010175NIA NIH HHS R01 AG028555NIH HHS AG08861-09
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundfrailty shows an upward trajectory with age, and higher levels increase the risk of mortality. However, it is less known whether the shape of frailty trajectories differs by age at death or whether the rate of change in frailty is associated with mortality.

objectivesto assess population frailty trajectories by age at death and to analyse whether the current level of the frailty index (FI) i.e. the most recent measurement or the person-specific rate of change is more predictive of mortality.

methods3,689 individuals from three population-based cohorts with up to 15 repeated measurements of the Rockwood frailty index were analysed. The FI trajectories were assessed by stratifying the sample into four age-at-death groups: <70, 70-80, 80-90 and >90 years. Generalised survival models were used in the survival analysis.

resultsthe FI trajectories by age at death showed that those who died at <70 years had a steadily increasing trajectory throughout the 40 years before death, whereas those who died at the oldest ages only accrued deficits from age ~75 onwards. Higher level of FI was independently associated with increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio 1.68, 95% confidence interval 1.47-1.91), whereas the rate of change was no longer significant after accounting for the current FI level. The effect of the FI level did not weaken with time elapsed since the last measurement.

conclusionsFrailty trajectories differ as a function of age-at-death category. The current level of FI is a stronger marker for risk stratification than the rate of change.

Indexed as

FrailtyAgedAgingFrail ElderlyGeriatric AssessmentHumansLongitudinal Studiesage at deathfrailtymortalityolder peopletrajectories

Identifiers

PMID34120182
PMCPMC8581383

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.