Prevalence of Prefrailty and Frailty Among Older Adults in Germany: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of Prefrailty and Frailty Among Older Adults in Germany: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression

AU - Hajek, André

AU - Kretzler, Benedikt

AU - König, Hans-Helmut

N1 - Copyright © 2022 Hajek, Kretzler and König.

PY - 2022/4/22

Y1 - 2022/4/22

N2 - Background: Various studies have identified the prevalence of prefrailty and frailty among older adults in Germany. Nevertheless, there is no review systematically synthesizing these studies. Thus, our aim was to close this gap in knowledge. Moreover, another aim was to perform a meta-analysis to synthesize the pooled prevalence of prefrailty and frailty. A further aim was to explore potential sources of heterogeneity based on a meta-regression.Methods: A number of three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) were searched (plus an additional hand search). The observational studies that determine the prevalence of frailty among older adults aged 65 years and above in Germany were included, whereas disease-specific samples were excluded. Data extraction included the description of the sample, operationalization of frailty, statistical analysis, sample characteristics and main findings. The established Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) standardized critical appraisal instrument for prevalence studies was used for evaluating the quality of the studies. Important steps were performed by two reviewers.Results: In sum, a number of 12 studies were included. The prevalence of frailty varied from about 2.4 to 25.6%. The pooled prevalence of frailty was 13.7% (95% CI: 9.0 to 18.5%). There was a significant heterogeneity among the studies (I 2 = 98.9%, p < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of prefrailty was 40.2% (95% CI: 28.3 to 52.1%; I 2 = 99.6%, p < 0.001). Some evidence of a publication bias exists. Meta-regressions showed that some of the heterogeneity was explained by the tool to quantify frailty and the average age of the respective sample.Conclusion: Particularly, the high prevalence of prefrailty should be highlighted since it is important to prevent individuals in old age from developing to frail status. This knowledge is important for the German society as a whole and for relevant stakeholders.Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021293648.

AB - Background: Various studies have identified the prevalence of prefrailty and frailty among older adults in Germany. Nevertheless, there is no review systematically synthesizing these studies. Thus, our aim was to close this gap in knowledge. Moreover, another aim was to perform a meta-analysis to synthesize the pooled prevalence of prefrailty and frailty. A further aim was to explore potential sources of heterogeneity based on a meta-regression.Methods: A number of three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) were searched (plus an additional hand search). The observational studies that determine the prevalence of frailty among older adults aged 65 years and above in Germany were included, whereas disease-specific samples were excluded. Data extraction included the description of the sample, operationalization of frailty, statistical analysis, sample characteristics and main findings. The established Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) standardized critical appraisal instrument for prevalence studies was used for evaluating the quality of the studies. Important steps were performed by two reviewers.Results: In sum, a number of 12 studies were included. The prevalence of frailty varied from about 2.4 to 25.6%. The pooled prevalence of frailty was 13.7% (95% CI: 9.0 to 18.5%). There was a significant heterogeneity among the studies (I 2 = 98.9%, p < 0.001). The pooled prevalence of prefrailty was 40.2% (95% CI: 28.3 to 52.1%; I 2 = 99.6%, p < 0.001). Some evidence of a publication bias exists. Meta-regressions showed that some of the heterogeneity was explained by the tool to quantify frailty and the average age of the respective sample.Conclusion: Particularly, the high prevalence of prefrailty should be highlighted since it is important to prevent individuals in old age from developing to frail status. This knowledge is important for the German society as a whole and for relevant stakeholders.Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021293648.

U2 - 10.3389/fmed.2022.870714

DO - 10.3389/fmed.2022.870714

M3 - SCORING: Review article

C2 - 35530037

VL - 9

JO - FRONT MED-LAUSANNE

JF - FRONT MED-LAUSANNE

SN - 2296-858X

M1 - 870714

ER -