Prevalence of multidimensional frailty among community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Objective The aims of this systematic review were to explore the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty assessed by Tilburg Frailty Indicator among older adults in community-dwelling. Design A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL and three Chinese databases. Two independent researchers selected the literatures, extracted the data and evaluated the quality. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 16.0. Results There were 66 studies with a total of 40,597 individuals that were eligible for the meta-analysis. Data from the meta-analysis revealed the pooled prevalence of 42 % for multidimensional frailty. (95 % CI: 38 %–45 %, I2 = 98.9 %, T2 = 0.024, p < 0.001). Among the six studies that provided data for different age groups, the results demonstrated an increasing trend in the prevalence of multidimensional frailty with advancing age. The results of gender-stratified analysis proved that the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty in women (45 %, 95 % CI: 39 %–51 %, p < 0.001) was higher than that in the men (33 %, 95 % CI: 28 %–39 %, p < 0.001). Based on different education level, the prevalence of multidimensional frailty is highest in the primary elementary or illiterate group (41 %, 95 % CI: 30 %–52 %, p < 0.001). According to different marital status, the pooled prevalence of multidimensional frailty in married group was significantly lower (36 %, 95 % CI: 28 %–43 %) than that in unmarried, divorced or widowed group (51 %, 95 % CI: 37 % -65 %). Conclusions Through a comprehensive review, we identified that 42 % of elderly individuals living in communities exhibit multidimensional frailty, indicating that multidimensional frailty is relatively common in this population. Stratified analysis revealed that advanced age, female gender, lower education level and unmarried status were associated with higher rates of multidimensional frailty.