R B Biritwum1, N Minicuci2, A E Yawson3, O Theou4, G P Mensah5, N Naidoo6, F Wu7, Y Guo8, Y Zheng9, Y Jiang10, T Maximova11, S Kalula12, P Arokiasamy13, A Salinas-Rodríguez14, B Manrique-Espinoza15, J J Snodgrass16, K N Sterner17, G Eick18, M A Liebert19, J Schrock20, S Afshar21, E Thiele22, S Vollmer23, K Harttgen24, H Strulik25, J E Byles26, K Rockwood27, A Mitnitski28, S Chatterji29, P Kowal30. 1. University of Ghana, Department of Community Health, Accra, Ghana. Electronic address: biritwum@africaonline.com.gh. 2. University of Ghana, Department of Community Health, Accra, Ghana; National Research Council, Neuroscience Institute, Padova, Italy. Electronic address: nadia.minicuci@unipd.it. 3. University of Ghana, Department of Community Health, Accra, Ghana. Electronic address: aeyawson@yahoo.com. 4. Dalhousie University, Geriatric Medicine, Halifax, Canada. Electronic address: olga.theou@dal.ca. 5. University of Ghana, Department of Community Health, Accra, Ghana. Electronic address: gpmensah@yahoo.com. 6. World Health Organization, SAGE team, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: naidoon@who.int. 7. Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai CDC), Shanghai, PR China. Electronic address: wufan@scdc.sh.cn. 8. Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai CDC), Shanghai, PR China. Electronic address: guoyanfei@scdc.sh.cn. 9. Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai CDC), Shanghai, PR China. Electronic address: zhengyang@scdc.sh.cn. 10. Capital Medical University, Clinical Trial and Research Center for Stroke, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, PR China. Electronic address: jerryjiang@263.net. 11. National Research Institute of Public Health (FSBI, RAMS), Moscow, Russian Federation. Electronic address: tmaximova@mail.ru. 12. University of Cape Town, Division of Geriatric Medicine, The Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute of Ageing in Africa, South Africa; Groote Schuur Hospital, International Longevity Centre, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: Sebastiana.Kalula@uct.ac.za. 13. International Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai, India. Electronic address: parokiasamy@iips.net. 14. National Institute of Public Health, Center for Evaluation Research and Surveys, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: asalinas@insp.mx. 15. National Institute of Public Health, Center for Evaluation Research and Surveys, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: bmanrique@insp.mx. 16. University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, Eugene, USA. Electronic address: jjosh@uoregon.edu. 17. University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, Eugene, USA. Electronic address: ksterner@uoregon.edu. 18. University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, Eugene, USA. Electronic address: geeta.eick@gmail.com. 19. University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, Eugene, USA. Electronic address: liebert@uoregon.edu. 20. University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology, Eugene, USA. Electronic address: joshua.matthew.schrock@gmail.com. 21. University of Southampton, Faculty of Medicine, United Kingdom. 22. Vassar College, Department of Biology, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA. Electronic address: lizthiele747@gmail.com. 23. University of Göttingen, Department of Economics, Germany; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA. Electronic address: svollmer@uni-goettingen.de. 24. ETH Zurich, NADEL, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: kenneth.harttgen@nadel.ethz.ch. 25. University of Gottingen, Department of Economics, Gottingen, Germany. Electronic address: holger.strulik@wiwi.uni-goettingen.de. 26. University of Newcastle Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Newcastle, Australia. Electronic address: Julie.Byles@newcastle.edu.au. 27. Dalhousie University, Geriatric Medicine, Halifax, Canada. Electronic address: Kenneth.Rockwood@dal.ca. 28. Dalhousie University, Geriatric Medicine, Halifax, Canada. Electronic address: Arnold.Mitnitski@dal.ca. 29. World Health Organization, SAGE team, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: chatterjis@who.int. 30. World Health Organization, SAGE team, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Newcastle Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Newcastle, Australia. Electronic address: kowalp@who.int.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The severe burden imposed by frailty and disability in old age is a major challenge for healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries alike. The current study aimed to provide estimates of the prevalence of frailty and disability in older adult populations and to examine their relationship with socioeconomic factors in six countries. METHODS: Focusing on adults aged 50+ years, a frailty index was constructed as the proportion of deficits in 40 variables, and disability was assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0), as part of the Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1 in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. RESULTS: This study included a total of 34,123 respondents. China had the lowest percentages of older adults with frailty (13.1%) and with disability (69.6%), whereas India had the highest percentages (55.5% and 93.3%, respectively). Both frailty and disability increased with age for all countries, and were more frequent in women, although the sex gap varied across countries. Lower levels of both frailty and disability were observed at higher levels of education and wealth. Both education and income were protective factors for frailty and disability in China, India and Russia, whereas only income was protective in Mexico, and only education in South Africa. CONCLUSIONS: Age-related frailty and disability are increasing concerns for older adult populations in low- and middle-income countries. The results indicate that lower levels of frailty and disability can be achieved for older people, and the study highlights the need for targeted preventive approaches and support programs.
BACKGROUND: The severe burden imposed by frailty and disability in old age is a major challenge for healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries alike. The current study aimed to provide estimates of the prevalence of frailty and disability in older adult populations and to examine their relationship with socioeconomic factors in six countries. METHODS: Focusing on adults aged 50+ years, a frailty index was constructed as the proportion of deficits in 40 variables, and disability was assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0), as part of the Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1 in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. RESULTS: This study included a total of 34,123 respondents. China had the lowest percentages of older adults with frailty (13.1%) and with disability (69.6%), whereas India had the highest percentages (55.5% and 93.3%, respectively). Both frailty and disability increased with age for all countries, and were more frequent in women, although the sex gap varied across countries. Lower levels of both frailty and disability were observed at higher levels of education and wealth. Both education and income were protective factors for frailty and disability in China, India and Russia, whereas only income was protective in Mexico, and only education in South Africa. CONCLUSIONS: Age-related frailty and disability are increasing concerns for older adult populations in low- and middle-income countries. The results indicate that lower levels of frailty and disability can be achieved for older people, and the study highlights the need for targeted preventive approaches and support programs.
Authors: Ye Ruan; Yanfei Guo; Paul Kowal; Ye Lu; Chazhen Liu; Shuangyuan Sun; Zhezhou Huang; Yang Zheng; Wenjing Wang; Gan Li; Yan Shi; Fan Wu Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2019-12-04 Impact factor: 3.921
Authors: Agnieszka Ćwirlej-Sozańska; Anna Wilmowska-Pietruszyńska; Bernard Sozański; Agnieszka Wiśniowska-Szurlej Journal: Med Sci Monit Date: 2018-03-07
Authors: Mythreyi Mahalingam; Justin Xavier Moore; John P Donnelly; Monika M Safford; Henry E Wang Journal: J Intensive Care Med Date: 2017-07-05 Impact factor: 3.510
Authors: Agnieszka Ćwirlej-Sozańska; Bernard Sozański; Agnieszka Wiśniowska-Szurlej; Anna Wilmowska-Pietruszyńska; Jolanta Kujawa Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2018-06-19 Impact factor: 3.411