Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41719319›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Developing and validating a frailty score based on patient-reported outcome 3 months after stroke: A Riksstroke-based study.

Joakim Wallmark, Marie Wiberg, Marie Eriksson

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Joakim WallmarkDepartment of Statistics, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7573-0671
Marie WibergDepartment of Statistics, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5549-8262
Marie ErikssonDepartment of Statistics, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3298-1555

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFrailty is common after stroke and linked to poor outcomes, but many measures are clinician-rated, time-consuming, and not suited to patient-reported data. To address these issues, we developed and validated a frailty score from the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) three-month follow-up questionnaire.

methodsWe analyzed responses from 19,470 stroke survivors to nine patient-reported items covering function, mood, fatigue, pain and general health, in the 2021-2022 Riksstroke questionnaire. Dimensionality was assessed with Mokken Scale Analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Item response theory (IRT) was used for score computation. Competing graded response IRT models (unidimensional, correlated-factor, bifactor) were compared, and measurement fairness was examined using differential item functioning (DIF) across age, sex, and education. Prognostic validity was tested with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression for all-cause mortality.

resultsFrom the Mokken Scale Analysis, all items met scalability criteria. Factor analysis suggested two correlated interpretable facets (Physical Functioning; Well-being/Mental Health). A bifactor IRT model provided the best fit to the data, comprising a general frailty dimension while addressing the strong correlation between the facets. DIF was minimal for sex and education, with modest age-related effects. Higher frailty scores were associated with increased mortality in adjusted Cox models and Kaplan-Meier curves. Tools for computing frailty scores are available at https://github.com/joakimwallmark/frailty-irt-scores.

conclusionsA robust, fair, and prognostically meaningful frailty score can be derived from patient-reported items in Riksstroke. More broadly, the study demonstrates how routinely collected patient-reported outcome measures can be leveraged to build scalable frailty scores, offering efficient cost-effective tools for monitoring outcome and guiding quality improvement in stroke care.

Indexed as

FrailtyPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresStrokeAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisRegistriesSurveys and QuestionnairesSweden

Identifiers

PMID41719319
PMCPMC12923031

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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.