Melo RC, Cipolli GC, Buarque GLA, Yassuda MS, Cesari M, Oude Voshaar RC, Aprahamian I. Prevalence of Frailty in Brazilian Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
J Nutr Health Aging 2020;
24:708-716. [PMID:
32744566 DOI:
10.1007/s12603-020-1398-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Frailty is characterized by a functioning decline in multiple systems accompanied by an increase in individual's vulnerability to stressors. It appears to be higher in low and middle-income countries compared with high-income ones. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of frailty in non-institutionalized Brazilian older adults.
DESIGN
a systematic review and meta-analysis study.
SETTING
Cross-sectional and prospective data from Brazil.
PARTICIPANTS
non-institutionalized adults aged 60 and older.
METHODS
Electronic searches were performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS, SCOPUS and Web of Science, considering the studies published between March 2001 and July 2018, using a combination of the following terms and correlates: "elder" AND "frail" AND "prevalence" AND "Brazil". Two independent reviewers selected studies according to the inclusion criteria. Disagreements were resolved by a third reviewer (title/abstract) and by consensus. Studies with samples ≥221 subjects were considered for meta-analysis.
RESULTS
28 studies were included, while 18 had the data meta-analyzed. The majority of studies (61%) included older adults only from the Southeastern region. The number of subjects ranged from 53 to 5,532 individuals (N = 17,604) and the average age ranged from 65.6 to 85.5 years. The overall prevalence of frailty was 24%. When considering the different assessment methods, the prevalence was lower for frailty phenotype (16%) compared with other criteria (40%). Regarding sex, the prevalence of frailty was similar for women (28%) and men (25%). The prevalence of frailty was higher in older adults recruited from health care services (30%) compared to community ones (22%).
CONCLUSION
In Brazil, the overall prevalence of frailty in non-institutionalized older adults is higher than observed from more developed countries. However, it may vary according to the assessment methods and settings.
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