Absence of association between frailty index and survival in elderly Brazilians: The FIBRA Study

Abstract

In Brazil, the frailty index has not been evaluated previously for its capacity to predict mortality in community-dwelling elderly. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the association between frailty index and mortality in the elderly. This was a prospective study consisting of data from the FIBRA Network-2008-2009 in Campinas, São Paulo State, with information on community-dwelling older adults from the urban area and through the Mortality Information System. Comparisons and statistical associations were performed with the following tests: Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square, and Cox regression with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 689 older adults participated (72.1 ± 5.3 years), of whom 68.8% were women. The prevalence rate for frailty was 38.8%, compared to 51.6% for pre-frailty and 9.6% for fit elders; overall mean frailty index was higher in women. There was no association between frailty index and chronological age. Cox regression showed that the variables age (HR: 1.10; 95%CI: 1.05-1.15) and gender (HR: 0.57; 95%CI: 0.33-0.99) were significantly associated with mortality. No association was found between frailty index and mortality (HR: 3.02; 95%CI: 0.24-37.64). Frailty index was not capable of predicting mortality in community-dwelling elderly Brazilians.