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Frailty and Its Contributory Factors in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Asian Regions (Hong Kong and Taiwan)

Author

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  • Ruby Yu

    (Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
    The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, Shatin, Hong Kong, China)

  • Wan-Chi Wu

    (Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan)

  • Jason Leung

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Osteoporosis Care and Control, Shatin, Hong Kong, China)

  • Susan C. Hu

    (Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan)

  • Jean Woo

    (Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
    The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, Shatin, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the prevalence of frailty across three Chinese populations: Hong Kong, Taiwan-urban and Taiwan-rural. Contributing factors to disparities in frailty were also examined. Data were derived from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOs) and Women (MsOs) (Hong Kong) Study ( n = 4000) and the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging ( n = 2392). Frailty was defined as an index calculated from 30 multiple deficits. The ratio of the frailty index to life expectancy at birth (FI/LE) was used as an indicator of compression of morbidity. Frailty was more prevalent in Taiwan-urban (33.1%) and Taiwan-rural (38.1%) compared to Hong Kong (16.6%, p < 0.05) and was higher in women (22.6–49.7%) than in men (10.5–27.5%, p < 0.05). The ratios of FI/LE were higher in Taiwan-urban and Taiwan-rural (both 0.27) compared to Hong Kong (0.20, p < 0.05). Multivariate analyses revealed that older age, being a woman and low levels of physical activity were common risk factors for frailty across the three populations. Alcohol use was inversely associated with frailty in both Hong Kong and Taiwan-urban populations, but not in Taiwan-rural. Living alone was associated with frailty in Hong Kong men, but not in Hong Kong women or Taiwanese people. For all study populations, older age and being a woman constituted the highest attributable factor. This comparison provides useful data to inform government policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruby Yu & Wan-Chi Wu & Jason Leung & Susan C. Hu & Jean Woo, 2017. "Frailty and Its Contributory Factors in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Asian Regions (Hong Kong and Taiwan)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:10:p:1096-:d:112713
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth Harttgen & Paul Kowal & Holger Strulik & Somnath Chatterji & Sebastian Vollmer, 2013. "Patterns of Frailty in Older Adults: Comparing Results from Higher and Lower Income Countries Using the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Study on Global AGEing and Adu," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(10), pages 1-11, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ah Ram Jang & Ju Young Yoon, 2021. "Multilevel Factors Associated with Frailty among the Rural Elderly in Korea Based on the Ecological Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-14, April.
    2. Takumi Abe & Akihiko Kitamura & Satoshi Seino & Yuri Yokoyama & Hidenori Amano & Yu Taniguchi & Mariko Nishi & Miki Narita & Tomoko Ikeuchi & Yui Tomine & Yoshinori Fujiwara & Shoji Shinkai, 2019. "Differences in the Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Frailty in Five Japanese Residential Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-9, October.
    3. Jean Woo, 2017. "How Can We Achieve Healthy Aging?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-2, December.

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