Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41804048›Full record

ArticleAustralasian journal on ageing2026

Regional and Socioeconomic Disparities in Frailty Across Tasmania: Evidence From Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease.

Zhexun Lou, Eddy Roccati, Jane E Alty, Michele L Callisaya, James C Vickers, Emily H Gordon, Ruth E Hubbard, David D Ward

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Australasian journal on ageing, 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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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Zhexun LouCentre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3354-7413
Eddy RoccatiWicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Jane E AltyWicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Michele L CallisayaMenzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2122-1622
James C VickersWicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Emily H GordonCentre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.
Ruth E HubbardCentre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.
David D WardCentre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5476-9526

Funding

J.O. and J.R. Wicking TrustMasonic Centenary Medical Research FoundationNational Health and Medical Research Council 2004051National Health and Medical Research Council 2015821St. Luke's Health
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAlthough frailty appears higher in rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, existing evidence often lacks adjustment for possible population confounders. This study examined the independent associations between geographic remoteness and area-level socioeconomic status with frailty.

methodsWe constructed a 33-item frailty index using data from 5740 participants of the Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND), a web-based longitudinal cohort of adults aged 50 years and over in Tasmania, Australia. After linking participant postcodes to Modified Monash Model remoteness and Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage, we examined frailty distribution and its associations with geographic and sociodemographic factors using descriptive statistics, spatial mapping and multivariable linear regression models.

resultsThe analytical sample mean age was 69.3 years (SD = 8.0) and most were women (72%). Frailty index scores followed a gamma distribution (mean score = 0.16, SD = 0.09), increased with age and were highest in central and western areas of Tasmania. After adjustment for age, gender, education, retirement and migrant status, frailty index scores were significantly higher in rural towns (β = 0.011 [95% confidence interval, CI = 0.005, 0.016]) and remote communities (β = 0.023 [95% CI = 0.009, 0.038]) than regional centres. Similarly, after full adjustment, compared with areas of the highest socioeconomic advantage, frailty was significantly higher in areas of middle (β = 0.013 [95% CI = 0.007, 0.018]) or low (β = 0.024 [95% CI = 0.018, 0.030]) socioeconomic advantage.

conclusionsThe distribution of frailty across Tasmania varied by geographic remoteness and socioeconomic disadvantage. Integrating frailty assessment into regional health planning may support targeted interventions for vulnerable subpopulations, particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities.

Indexed as

FrailtyGeographyRural PopulationSocial Determinants of HealthSocioeconomic Disparities in HealthAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsFemaleFrail ElderlyHealth Status DisparitiesHumansLongitudinal StudiesLow Socioeconomic StatusMaleMiddle AgedAustraliafrailtygeographic mappingrural healthsocioeconomic disparities in health

Identifiers

PMID41804048
PMCPMC12972236

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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.