ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2021
Is slowness a better discriminator of disability than frailty in older adults?
Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changes in impaired physical function in older adults and the influences of physical activity: a population-based cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Low gait speed is better than frailty and sarcopenia at identifying the risk of disability in older adults.Age and ageing · 2025Article
- Frailty or sarcopenia: which is a better indicator of mortality risk in older adults?Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2025Article
- Could poor glycaemic control be a predictor of walking speed decline in older adults? Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2024Article
- Frailty and Survivability of Polish Caucasian Nonagenarians and Centenarians.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Prediabetes Progression and Regression on Objectively- Measured Physical Function: A Prospective Cohort Study.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2023Article
- Review
- Does the incidence of frailty differ between men and women over time?Archives of gerontology and geriatrics · 2023Article
- Hospital admission and the occurrence of delirium in older adults with physical frailty: cross-sectional study.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2023Article
- Is slowness a better discriminator of disability than frailty in older adults?Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe trajectory of incident disability that occurs simultaneously with changes in frailty status, as well as how much each frailty component contributes to this process in the different sexes, are unknown. The objective of this study is to analyse the trajectory of the incidence of disability on basic and instrumental activities of daily living (BADL and IADL) as a function of the frailty changes and their components by sex over time.
methodsLongitudinal analyses of 1522 and 1548 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing study participants without BADL and IADL disability, respectively, and without frailty at baseline. BADL and IADL were assessed using the Katz and Lawton Scales and frailty by phenotype at 4, 8, and 12 years of follow-up. Generalized mixed linear models were calculated for the incidence of BADL and IADL disability, as an outcome, using changes in the state of frailty and its components, as the exposure, by sex in models fully adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioural, biochemical, and clinical characteristics.
resultsThe mean age, at baseline, of the 1522 eligible individuals free of BADL and free of frailty was 68.1 ± 6.2 years (52.1% women) and of the 1548 individuals free IADL and free frailty was 68.1 ± 6.1 years (50.6% women). Women who became pre-frail had a higher risk of incidence of disability for BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained non-frail (P < 0.05). Men and women who became frail had a higher risk of incidence of disability regarding BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained non-frail (P < 0.05). Slowness was the only component capable of discriminating the incidence of disability regarding BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained without slowness (P < 0.05). Weakness and low physical activity level in men and exhaustion in women also discriminated the incidence of disability (P < 0.05).
conclusionsSlowness is the main warning sign of functional decline in older adults. As its evaluation is easy, fast, and accessible, screening for this frailty component should be prioritized in different clinical contexts so that rehabilitation strategies can be developed to avoid the onset of disability.
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