Differences across the frailty trajectories in comorbidities and activities of daily living present at baseline
| 60–69 year olds (N=6045) | 70–79 year olds (N=4314) | 80–89 year olds (N=1911) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low trajectory | High trajectory | Low trajectory | High trajectory | Low trajectory | High trajectory | |
| Comorbidities | ||||||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | ||||||
| <18.5 | 25 (0.6) | 16 (1.0) | 25 (0.9) | 12 (0.8) | 19 (1.9) | 13 (1.6) |
| 18.5 to <25 | 1097 (27.5) | 194 (11.6) | 769 (28.7) | 232 (16.5) | 385 (38.8) | 212 (26.0) |
| 25 to <30 | 1718 (43.0) | 467 (27.8) | 1230 (45.9) | 446 (31.7) | 424 (42.8) | 306 (37.6) |
| ≥30 | 1154 (28.9) | 1002 (59.7) | 655 (24.5) | 717 (51.0) | 163 (16.5) | 283 (34.8) |
| Hypertension | 2512 (58.7) | 1618 (91.7) | 2144 (75.2) | 1380 (94.5) | 887 (83.9) | 815 (95.4) |
| Congestive heart failure | 61 (1.4) | 320 (18.1) | 160 (5.6) | 514 (35.2) | 174 (16.5) | 443 (51.9) |
| Coronary artery disease | 724 (16.9) | 983 (55.7) | 892 (31.3) | 964 (66.0) | 373 (35.3) | 545 (63.8) |
| Cardiac arrhythmia | 1130 (26.4) | 1101 (62.4) | 1364 (47.8) | 1156 (79.1) | 670 (63.4) | 724 (84.8) |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 3067 (71.7) | 1613 (91.4) | 2210 (77.5) | 1300 (89.0) | 737 (69.7)* | 646 (75.6)* |
| Stroke | 237 (5.5) | 387 (21.9) | 368 (12.9) | 452 (30.9) | 171 (16.2) | 303 (35.5) |
| Arthritis | 1949 (45.5) | 1259 (71.3) | 1624 (56.9) | 1134 (77.6) | 663 (62.7) | 663 (77.6) |
| Asthma | 253 (5.9) | 301 (17.1) | 175 (6.1) | 220 (15.1) | 64 (6.1) | 114 (13.4) |
| Cancer | 1612 (37.7) | 860 (48.7) | 1437 (50.4) | 878 (60.1) | 605 (57.2)† | 537 (62.9)† |
| Chronic kidney disease | 226 (5.3) | 526 (29.8) | 337 (11.8) | 596 (40.8) | 242 (22.9) | 431 (50.5) |
| COPD | 286 (6.7) | 534 (30.3) | 329 (11.5) | 525 (35.9) | 138 (13.1) | 279 (32.7) |
| Dementia | 69 (1.6) | 156 (8.8) | 197 (6.9) | 326 (22.3) | 135 (12.8) | 325 (38.1) |
| Depression | 559 (13.1) | 676 (38.3) | 382 (13.4) | 568 (38.9) | 168 (15.9) | 360 (42.2) |
| Diabetes | 1765 (41.2) | 1225 (69.4) | 1292 (45.3) | 955 (65.4) | 396 (37.5) | 416 (48.7) |
| Osteoporosis | 565 (13.2) | 326 (18.5) | 688 (24.1) | 463 (31.7) | 375 (35.5)* | 354 (41.5)* |
| Schizophrenia | 18 (0.4) | 81 (4.6) | 28 (1.0) | 113 (7.7) | 35 (3.3) | 117 (13.7) |
| Substance abuse disorders‡ | 69 (1.6) | 142 (8.1) | 21 (0.7) | 87 (6.0) | 9 (0.9)† | 17 (2.0)† |
| Activities of daily living | ||||||
| Preparing meals | 34 (0.8) | 126 (7.1) | 33 (1.2) | 160 (11.0) | 26 (2.5) | 168 (20.5) |
| Feeding yourself | 8 (0.2) | 27 (1.5) | 7 (0.3) | 28 (1.9) | 7 (0.7)* | 18 (2.2)* |
| Dressing yourself | 23 (0.5) | 94 (5.3) | 19 (0.7) | 99 (6.8) | 13 (1.3) | 77 (9.4) |
| Using the toilet | 10 (0.2) | 58 (3.3) | 7 (0.3) | 55 (3.8) | 9 (0.9) | 42 (5.1) |
| Housekeeping | 40 (0.9) | 241 (13.7) | 49 (1.7) | 272 (18.6) | 63 (6.1) | 254 (31.0) |
| Climbing stairs | 119 (2.8) | 474 (26.9) | 162 (5.7) | 544 (37.2) | 102 (9.9) | 393 (48.0) |
| Bathing | 15 (0.4) | 120 (6.8) | 9 (0.3) | 108 (7.4) | 16 (1.6) | 125 (15.3) |
| Walking | 71 (1.7) | 306 (17.3) | 95 (3.3) | 405 (27.7) | 81 (7.9) | 298 (36.4) |
| Using transportation | 15 (0.4) | 104 (5.9) | 20 (0.7) | 134 (9.2) | 31 (3.0) | 138 (16.9) |
| Getting in and out of bed | 379 (9.4) | 329 (19.7) | 285 (10.6) | 279 (20.1) | 137 (14.3) | 166 (21.3) |
| Managing medications | 12 (0.3) | 105 (6.0) | 21 (0.7) | 133 (9.1) | 14 (1.4) | 149 (18.2) |
| Depend on assistive devices (walker, cane, etc) or other people to perform ADLs | 65 (1.5) | 285 (16.6) | 110 (3.9) | 434 (30.7) | 130 (13.1) | 463 (58.0) |
| Dependent on a device for normal breathing | 89 (2.2) | 244 (15.0) | 63 (2.3) | 139 (10.4) | 25 (2.6) | 66 (8.9) |
| Climb 2 flights of stairs without rest | ||||||
| No, can't do at all | 31 (0.8) | 261 (15.7) | 47 (1.7) | 322 (23.7) | 57 (6.0) | 306 (42.0) |
| Yes, with difficulty | 519 (12.5) | 601 (36.1) | 572 (21.0) | 623 (45.9) | 276 (29.0) | 277 (38.0) |
| Yes with no difficulty | 3581 (86.4) | 778 (46.8) | 2077 (76.4) | 382 (28.2) | 602 (63.4) | 127 (17.4) |
| Unknown | 12 (0.3) | 23 (1.4) | 24 (0.9) | 30 (2.2) | 15 (1.6) | 19 (2.6) |
Values are N (%). All p values are <0.001 unless otherwise indicated.
*p Value<0.01.
†p Value<0.05.
‡Drug and alcohol substance abuse disorders.
ADL, activities of daily living; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.