Few studies have investigated the prevalence of frailty in the Australian general population. This study determined the prevalence of frailty in a population-based sample of older adults and examined the relationship between frailty and comorbid conditions. Men (n = 347) and women (n = 360) aged ≥ 60 year from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS) were assessed between 2016–2019 and 2011–2014, respectively. Frailty was identified using a modified Fried frailty phenotype. Prevalence estimates were standardised to the 2011 Australian population. Kruskal–Wallis test and χ2 test were used to analyse data. For women, mean standardised prevalence estimates were 18.3% (14.1–22.5) for frail, 54.1% (47.3–60.8) pre-frail and 22.9% (18.9–26.8) robust. Corresponding estimates for men were 13.1% (9.8–16.3) frail, 47.8% (42.0–53.6) pre-frail and 27.3% (22.7–31.8) robust. Women who were frail were older, shorter, tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and used more medications compared to other groups. Compared to robust women, those who were frail were more likely to have cardio-metabolic (OR 3.5 (0.7–20.0)), pulmonary (OR 3.5 (1.5–8.4)) and musculoskeletal (OR 10.1 (2.1–48.0)) conditions. Frail men were older, had a higher BMI and were more likely to have musculoskeletal conditions (OR 5.8 (2.8–12.3)) and tended to be from a lower SES. No further associations were observed. This study reported the prevalence of frail and pre-frail individuals in a population-based sample of Australian men and women. Frailty was associated with musculoskeletal conditions for both men and women; however, associations with cardio-metabolic and pulmonary comorbidities were evident in women only.
Keywords:
Estimates; Comorbidity; Lifestyle factors