Prevalence of Frailty in Middle-Aged and Older Community-Dwelling Europeans Living in 10 Countries
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Frailty is an indicator of health status in old age. Its frequency has been described mainly for North America; comparable data from other countries are lacking. Here we report on the prevalence of frailty in 10 European countries included in a population-based survey. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 18,227 randomly selected community-dwelling individuals 50 years of age and older, enrolled in the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2004. Complete data for assessing a frailty phenotype (exhaustion, shrinking, weakness, slowness, and low physical activity) were available for 16,584 participants. Prevalences of frailty and prefrailty were estimated for individuals 50-64 years and 65 years of age and older from each country. The latter group was analyzed further after excluding disabled individuals. We estimated country effects in this subset using multivariate logistic regression models, controlling first for age, gender, and then demographics and education. RESULTS: The proportion of frailty (three to five criteria) or prefrailty (one to two criteria) was higher in southern than in northern Europe. International differences in the prevalences of frailty and prefrailty for 65 years and older group persisted after excluding the disabled. Demographic characteristics did not account for international differences; however, education was associated with frailty. Controlling for education, age and gender diminished the effects of residing in Italy and Spain. CONCLUSIONS: A higher prevalence of frailty in southern countries is consistent with previous findings of a north-south gradient for other health indicators in SHARE. Our data suggest that socioeconomic factors like education contribute to these differences in frailty and prefrailty.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Higher levels of inflammatory markers in blood are associated with greater loss of muscle mass and strength, accelerated loss of mobility, lower-extremity performance and physical activity, and depression in older individuals.
“higher levels of inflammatory markers in blood are associated with a greater loss of muscle mass and strength, accelerated loss of mobility, lower-extremity performance and physical activity, and depression in older individuals”
From Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty (2018) · cites this paper as [228]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Frailty in Older Adults: Evidence for a Phenotype
Fried, L. P., Tangen, C. M., Walston, J., Newman, A. B., Hirsch, C., Gottdiener, J., Seeman, T., Tracy, R., Kop, W. J., Burke, G., et al. (2001) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/56.3.m146 · Cited by 24,907 · see citing works
Fried, L. P., Ferrucci, L., Darer, J., Williamson, J. D., & Anderson, G. (2004) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/59.3.m255 · Cited by 4,032 · see citing works
Walston, J., Hadley, E. C., Ferrucci, L., Guralnik, J. M., Newman, A. B., Studenski, S. A., Ershler, W. B., Harris, T., & Fried, L. P. (2006) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00745.x · Cited by 1,605 · see citing works
Phenotype of frailty: characterization in the women's health and aging studies
Bandeen-Roche, K., Xue, Q.-L., Ferrucci, L., Walston, J., Guralnik, J. M., Chaves, P., Zeger, S. L., & Fried, L. P. (2006) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/61.3.262 · Cited by 1,215 · see citing works
Transitions between frailty states among community-living older persons
Gill, T. M., Gahbauer, E. A., Allore, H. G., & Han, L. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.4.418 · Cited by 1,141 · see citing works
Fugate Woods, N., LaCroix, A. Z., Gray, S. L., Aragaki, A., Cochrane, B. B., Brunner, R. L., Masaki, K., Murray, A., & Newman, A. B. (2005) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53405.x · Cited by 1,040 · see citing works
Ensrud, K. E. (2008) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2007.113 · Cited by 975 · see citing works
Ensrud, K. E., Ewing, S. K., Taylor, B. C., Fink, H. A., Stone, K. L., Cauley, J. A., Tracy, J. K., Hochberg, M. C., Rodondi, N., & Cawthon, P. M. (2007) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/62.7.744 · Cited by 760 · see citing works
Büchner, D. M., & Wagner, E. H. (1992) · Clinics in Geriatric Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-0690(18)30494-4 · Cited by 667 · see citing works
Frailty in Older Men: Prevalence, Progression, and Relationship with Mortality
Cawthon, P. M., Marshall, L. M., Michael, Y., Dam, T.-T. L., Ensrud, K. E., Barrett-Connor, E. L., & ORWOLL, E. S. (2007) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01259.x · Cited by 500 · see citing works
Models, Definitions, and Criteria of Frailty
Hogan, D. B. (2006) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012369391-4/50051-5 · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Frailty syndrome and skeletal muscle: results from the Invecchiare in Chianti study
Cesari, M., Leeuwenburgh, C., Lauretani, F., Onder, G., Bandinelli, S., Maraldi, C., Guralnik, J. M., Pahor, M., & Ferrucci, L. (2006) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/83.5.1142 · Cited by 365 · see citing works
Sex Differences in the Risk of Frailty for Mortality Independent of Disability and Chronic Diseases
Puts, M. T. E., Lips, P. T. A. M., & Deeg, D. J. H. (2004) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53008.x · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Frailty in Older Mexican Americans
Ottenbacher, K. J., Ostir, G. V., Peek, M. K., Snih, S. A., Raji, M. A., & Markides, K. S. (2005) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53511.x · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Bortz, W. M. (1993) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1993.tb06769.x · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Testosterone, Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin, and Frailty in Older Men
Mohr, B. A., Bhasin, S., Kupelian, V. A., de Araújo, A. B., O’Donnell, A. B., & McKinlay, J. B. (2007) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01121.x · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Woods, N. F. (2006) · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Chutes, fragilité et ostéoporose chez la personne âgée: un problème de santé publique
Vellas, B. J., Guyonnet, S., Nourhashémi, F., Rolland, Y., Lauque, S., Ousset, P., Moulias, S., Andrieu, S., Fontan, B., Adoué, D., et al. (2000) · La Revue de Médecine Interne · doi:10.1016/s0248-8663(00)80006-5 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 6
- [8]8. V ellas B , Gillette-Guyonnet S , Nourashemi F , et al . Falls, frailty and osteoporosis in the elderly: a public health problem . Rev Med Interne . 2000 ; 21 : 608 - 613 .
- [17]17. Klevmarken A , Swensson B , Hesselius P . The SHARE sampling procedures and calibrated design weights . In: Börsch-Supan A , Jürges H , eds. The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe: Methodology . Mannheim, Germany : Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging ; 2005 : 28 - 69 .
- [18]18. De Luca G , Paracchi F . Survey participation in the fi rst wave of SHARE . In: Börsch-Supan A , Jürges H , eds. The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe: Methodology , Mannheim, Germany : Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging ; 2005 : 88 - 104 .
- [19]19. Alcser KH , Benson G . The SHARE train-the-trainer program . In: Börsch-Supan A , Jürges H , eds. The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe: Methodology . Mannheim, Germany : Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging ; 2005 : 70 - 74 .
- [20]20. Karkness J . SHARE translation procedures and translation assessment . In: Börsch-Supan A , Jürges H , eds. The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe: Methodology . Mannheim, Germany : Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging ; 2005 : 24 - 27 .
- [21]21. Cuénoud P . 2007 . Prevalence of the Frailty Phenotype in Community- Dwelling Population Aged 50 and Over in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe [master's dissertation] . Lausanne, Switzerland : Institute of Health Economics and Management, University of Lausanne . http://www.iumsp.ch/msp\_ ussframe.htm . Accessed December 8, 2008 .
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Clegg, A., Young, J., Iliffe, S., Rikkert, M. O., & Rockwood, K. (2013) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(12)62167-9 · Cited by 9,503 · see citing works
Inflammageing: chronic inflammation in ageing, cardiovascular disease, and frailty
Ferrucci, L., & Fabbri, E. (2018) · Nature Reviews Cardiology · doi:10.1038/s41569-018-0064-2 · Cited by 3,690 · see citing works
The World report on ageing and health: a policy framework for healthy ageing
Beard, J. R., Officer, A., de Carvalho, I. A., Sadana, R., Pot, A. M., Michel, J.-P., Lloyd-Sherlock, P., Epping-Jordan, J. E., Peeters, G. M. E. E. (., Mahanani, W. R., et al. (2016) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)00516-4 · Cited by 3,287 · see citing works
Prevalence of frailty in community-dwelling older persons: a systematic review
Collard, R. M., Boter, H., Schoevers, R. A., & Oude Voshaar, R. C. (2012) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04054.x · Cited by 3,073 · see citing works
Theou, O., Brothers, T. D., Mitnitski, A., & Rockwood, K. (2013) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.12420 · Cited by 665 · see citing works
Collerton, J., Martin-Ruiz, C., Davies, K., Hilkens, C. M., Isaacs, J., Kolenda, C., Parker, C., Dunn, M., Catt, M., Jagger, C., et al. (2012) · Mechanisms of Ageing and Development · doi:10.1016/j.mad.2012.05.005 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Sarcopenia, frailty and their prevention by exercise
Nascimento, C. M., Ingles, M., Salvador-Pascual, A., Cominetti, M. R., Gomez-Cabrera, M. C., & Viña, J. (2019) · Free Radical Biology and Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.08.035 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Sarcopenia as the biological substrate of physical frailty
Landi, F., Calvani, R., Cesari, M., Tosato, M., Martone, A. M., Bernabei, R., Onder, G., & Marzetti, E. (2015) · Clinics in Geriatric Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.cger.2015.04.005 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Fatigue in older adults: an early indicator of the aging process?
Avlund, K. (2010) · Aging Clinical and Experimental Research · doi:10.1007/bf03324782 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Buch, A., Carmeli, E., Boker, L. K., Marcus, Y., Shefer, G., Kis, O., Berner, Y., & Stern, N. (2016) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2016.01.008 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Age-dependent changes in GI physiology and microbiota: time to reconsider?
An, R., Wilms, E., Masclee, A. A. M., Smidt, H., Zoetendal, E. G., & Jonkers, D. (2018) · Gut · doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315542 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Gait Speed and Operative Mortality in Older Adults Following Cardiac Surgery.
Afilalo, J., Kim, S., O’Brien, S., Brennan, J. M., Edwards, F. H., Mack, M. J., McClurken, J. B., Cleveland, J. C., Smith, P. K., Shahian, D. M., et al. (2016) · JAMA Cardiology · doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2016.0316 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Metzelthin, S. F., Daniëls, R., van Rossum, E., de Witte, L., van den Heuvel, W. J., & Kempen, G. I. (2010) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-176 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Mañas, A., del Pozo-Cruz, B., Guadalupe-Grau, A., Marín-Puyalto, J., Alfaro-Acha, A., Rodríguez-Mañas, L., García-García, F. J., & Ara, I. (2018) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2017.11.003 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Parvaneh, S., Mohler, J., Toosizadeh, N., Grewal, G. S., & Najafi, B. (2017) · Gerontology · doi:10.1159/000460292 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Olde Keizer, R. A. C. M., van Velsen, L., Moncharmont, M., Riche, B., Ammour, N., Del Signore, S., Zia, G., Hermens, H., & N’Dja, A. (2019) · Health and Technology · doi:10.1007/s12553-019-00320-9 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
- Authors
- Santos-Eggimann, B., Cuenoud, P., Spagnoli, J., & Junod, J.
- Affiliations
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CH)
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-03-10
- Volume
- 64A
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 675-681
- ISSN
- 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-535X
- PMC
- PMC2800805
- OpenAlex
- W2116041825
- Cited by
- 963
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 75 · 2019: 82 · 2018: 65 · 2017: 76 · 2016: 82 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 21.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- IRIS (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission (QLK6‐CT‐2001‐ 00360, P01_AG08291, U01 AG09740-13S2, P30 AG12815, P01 AG005842, OGHA 04-064, Y1-AG-4553-01)
- Austrian Science Fund
- Office Fédéral de l'Education et de la Science
- National Institutes of Health (2p30ag012815-16)
- U.S. Public Health Service (OGHA 04-064)
- National Institute on Aging (OGHA 04- 064, U01 AG09740‐13S2, P30AG12815, P01AG08291, AG09740, QLK6-CT-2001-00360, U01 AG 09740, P01AG008291, P30AG012815, AG005842, P01AG005842, U01AG009740, Y1-AG-4553–01)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- frailty, pre-frailty, prevalence, middle-aged and older adults, community-dwelling older adults, cross-national differences, north-south gradient, socioeconomic factors, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, physical activity
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Europe, Fatigue, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Physical Fitness, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Geriatric Assessment, Prevalence, Logistic Models, Frail Elderly, Muscle Weakness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
