Highlights
- •Function and frailty both predict adverse outcomes among older adults.
- •The choice of screening measure may depend on clinical context.
- •Results need to be confirmed prospectively using multiple frailty measures.
Abstract
Objective
To explore the predictive ability of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB),
Late Life Function and Disability Instrument-Function component (LLFDI-function) and
frailty phenotype, for falls, hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits,
and low self-rated health (SRH) over 1 and 2 years in older adults.
Design
Secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study, the Boston Rehabilitative Impairment
Study of the Elderly.
Setting
Primary care.
Participants
Adults 65 years and older at risk for disability who completed ≥1 follow-up call (N=391).
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
We computed separate logistic regression models using the SPPB, LLFDI-function, and
frailty phenotype as independent variables and falls, hospitalizations, ED visits,
and SRH over 1 and 2 years as dependent variables. Receiver operating characteristic
curves were constructed and the areas under the curves calculated.
Results
Participants had a mean age of 76.5±7.1 years. The SPPB, LLFDI-function, and frailty
phenotype all predicted hospitalizations and low SRH over a 1- and 2-year timeframe
(odds ratio [OR] min-max, 1.35-1.51 and 1.67-3.07, respectively). Over 2 years, the
SPPB predicted ED visits (OR, 1.28), and the LLFDI-function predicted falls (OR, 1.31).
The LLFDI-function predicted low SRH better than the frailty phenotype over 1 year.
There were no differences between the measures for any of the other outcomes.
Conclusions
The SPPB, LLFDI-function, and frailty phenotype had similar accuracy for predicting
falls, hospitalizations, ED visits, and low SRH over 1 and 2 years among older primary
care patients at risk for disability. As a result, when considering the optimal screening
tool for older adults, the choice between a measure of function and frailty may ultimately
depend on clinical preference and context.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
AUC (area under the curve), BMI (body mass index), ED (emergency department), LLFDI-function (Late Life Function and Disability Instrument-Function component), OR (odds ratio), PASE (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly), RISE (Rehabilitative Impairment Study of the Elderly), ROC (receiver operating characteristic), SPPB (Short Physical Performance Battery), SRH (self-rated health)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 28, 2019
Footnotes
The original study was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant no. 5 R01 AG032052-03) and the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, from the National Center for Research Resources (grant no. 1 UL1 RR025758-01).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
