Frailty and Its Contributory Factors in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Asian Regions (Hong Kong and Taiwan)

Ruby Yu, Wan-Chi Wu, Jason Leung, Susan C. Hu and Jean Woo
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Ruby Yu: Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
Wan-Chi Wu: Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Jason Leung: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Osteoporosis Care and Control, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
Susan C. Hu: Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Jean Woo: Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of frailty across three Chinese populations: Hong Kong, Taiwan-urban and Taiwan-rural. Contributing factors to disparities in frailty were also examined. Data were derived from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOs) and Women (MsOs) (Hong Kong) Study ( n = 4000) and the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging ( n = 2392). Frailty was defined as an index calculated from 30 multiple deficits. The ratio of the frailty index to life expectancy at birth (FI/LE) was used as an indicator of compression of morbidity. Frailty was more prevalent in Taiwan-urban (33.1%) and Taiwan-rural (38.1%) compared to Hong Kong (16.6%, p < 0.05) and was higher in women (22.6–49.7%) than in men (10.5–27.5%, p < 0.05). The ratios of FI/LE were higher in Taiwan-urban and Taiwan-rural (both 0.27) compared to Hong Kong (0.20, p < 0.05). Multivariate analyses revealed that older age, being a woman and low levels of physical activity were common risk factors for frailty across the three populations. Alcohol use was inversely associated with frailty in both Hong Kong and Taiwan-urban populations, but not in Taiwan-rural. Living alone was associated with frailty in Hong Kong men, but not in Hong Kong women or Taiwanese people. For all study populations, older age and being a woman constituted the highest attributable factor. This comparison provides useful data to inform government policies.

Keywords: frailty; frailty index; compression of morbidity; prevalence; risk factor; healthcare system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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