European journal of epidemiology
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To investigate the prevalence of frailty in a Dutch elderly population and to identify adverse health outcomes associated with the frailty phenotype independent of the comorbidities. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses within the Rotterdam Study (the Netherlands), a prospective population-based cohort study in persons aged ≥55 years. Frailty was defined as meeting three or more of five established criteria for frailty, evaluating nutritional status, physical activity, mobility, grip strength and exhaustion. ⋯ Frail elderly were more likely to be older and female, to have an impaired quality of life and to have fallen or to have been hospitalized. 108 (72.0 %) frail participants had ≥2 comorbidities, compared to 777 (54.4 %) intermediate frail and 522 (44.8 %) non-frail participants. Adjusted for age, sex and comorbidities, frail elderly had a significantly increased risk of dying within 3 years (HR 3.4; 95 % CI 1.9-6.4), compared to the non-frail elderly. This study in a general Dutch population of community-dwelling elderly able to perform the frailty tests, demonstrates that frailty is common and that frail elderly are at increased risk of death independent of comorbidities.