ArticleAnnals of medicine2021
The utilization of specialized healthcare services among frail older adults in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.
Article in Annals of medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Health Care-Related Determinants of First-Time Long-Term Care Need in Older Adults in Germany: Retrospective Cohort Study Using Claims Data.Interactive journal of medical research · 2026Article
- The Mediating Role of Frailty in Healthcare Utilization Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: A Comparison of Generalist, Specialist, and Mental Health Visits.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Health care utilization and costs for frail vs nonfrail patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.Blood advances · 2024Article
- Care pathways in older patients seen in a multidisciplinary same day emergency care (SDEC) unit.Age and ageing · 2024Article
- Association of frailty with the use of health services in older adults: a secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study.Gaceta medica de Mexico · 2024Article
- Medication risk checklist for older adults (LOTTA) - development and validation of a self-assessment tool.Annals of medicine · 2023Article
- Association of frailty with health service use among older Chinese adults: analysis of population-based panel data.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The utilization of primary healthcare services among frail older adults - findings from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe association between frailty and specialized healthcare utilization is not well studied. We, therefore, examined the utilization of specialized healthcare services among frail Finnish older adults.
methodsA sub-sample of 1060 participants of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were followed prospectively for specialized healthcare utilization from nationwide registers between the years 2013 and 2017. The participants' frailty status was assessed according to Fried's criteria at a mean age of 71.0 (2.7 SD) years between the years 2011 and 2013. A negative binomial regression model was used to examine the association between frailty and the total number of visits, emergency visits, outpatient appointments separating the first outpatient appointments and the follow-up appointments, inpatient care including elective and non-elective hospital admissions and the total number of hospital days. We also calculated average length of stay (ALOS) and used the Kruskal-Wallis test to examine the differences between the groups.
resultsAfter adjusting for covariates, frailty was significantly associated with the number of specialized healthcare visits (IRR 1.50, 95% CI = 1.04-2.15) and all subgroups of visits apart from follow-up outpatient appointments. Frailty was particularly strongly associated with the number of hospital days (IRR 5.24, 95% CI = 2.35-11.7) and notably with emergency visits (IRR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.45-3.51) and hospital admissions (IRR 2.23, 95% CI = 1.39-3.56). Frail older adults had also higher ALOS compared to non-frail participants (
conclusionsFrailty increases the use of most specialized healthcare services. Preventative interventions against frailty are needed to decrease the burden on specialized healthcare systems.KEY MESSAGEFrailty is associated with the utilization of most specialized healthcare services, the most expensive part of the healthcare in most high-income countries.The association of frailty with inpatient care is particularly strong.Preventative interventions against frailty are needed to decrease the burden on specialized healthcare systems.
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