The frailty index (FI) can be used to measure the health status of older individuals; it serves as a proxy measure of
aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
and vulnerability to poor outcomes.
FI was developed by Dr. Kenneth Rockwood and Dr. Arnold Mitnitski at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...
in Canada.
FI is defined as the proportion of deficits present in an individual out of the total number of age-related health variables considered. A frailty index can be created in most secondary data sources related to health by utilizing health deficits that are routinely collected in
health assessment
A health assessment is a plan of care that identifies the specific needs of a person and how those needs will be addressed by the healthcare system or skilled nursing facility. Health assessment is the evaluation of the health status by performing ...
s. These deficits include
diseases
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ...
,
signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showi ...
, laboratory abnormalities,
cognitive impairments, and disabilities in activities of daily living.
''Frailty Index (FI) = (number of health deficits present) รท (number of health deficits measured)''
For example, a person with 20 of 40 deficits collected has an FI score of 20/40 = 0.5; whilst for someone with 10 deficits, the FI score is 10/40 = 0.25. The FI takes advantage of the high redundancy in the human organism. This is why it is replicable across different
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...
s even when different items and different numbers of items are used. The standard procedure for creating a frailty index are found in an open-access publication.
There are several frailty indices, including a clinical deficits frailty index (FI-CD) and a biomarker-based frailty index (FI-B).
See also
*
Disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, s ...
*
Physiological functional capacity Physiological functional capacity (PFC) is the ability to perform the physical tasks of daily life and the ease with which these tasks can be performed. PFC declines at some point with advancing age even in healthy adults, resulting in a reduced ca ...
References
Geriatrics
Gerontology
Medical scales
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