Dataset Information

Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to assess whether cumulative disadvantage in childhood misfortune and adult-life socioeconomic conditions influence the risk of frailty in old age and whether welfare regimes influence these associations. METHOD:Data from 23,358 participants aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal SHARE survey were used. Frailty was operationalized according to Fried's phenotype as presenting either weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity. Confounder-adjusted mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to analyze associations of childhood misfortune and life-course socioeconomic conditions with frailty. RESULTS:Childhood misfortune and poor adult-life socioeconomic conditions increased the odds of (pre-)frailty at older age. With aging, differences narrowed between categories of adverse childhood experiences (driven by Scandinavian welfare regime) and adverse childhood health experiences (driven by Eastern European welfare regime), but increased between categories of occupational position (driven by Bismarckian welfare regime). DISCUSSION:These findings suggest that childhood misfortune is linked to frailty in old age. Such a disadvantaged start in life does not seem to be compensated by a person's life-course socioeconomic trajectory, though certain types of welfare regimes affected this relationship. Apart from main occupational position, our findings do not support the cumulative dis/advantage theory, but rather show narrowing differences.

SUBMITTER: Van Der Linden BWA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7265805 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE.

Van Der Linden Bernadette Wilhelmina Antonia BWA Sieber Stefan S Cheval Boris B Orsholits Dan D Guessous Idris I Gabriel Rainer R Von Arx Martina M Kelly-Irving Michelle M Aartsen Marja M Blane David D Boisgontier Matthieu P MP Courvoisier Delphine D Oris Michel M Kliegel Matthias M Cullati Stéphane S

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20200601 6

<h4>Objectives</h4>This study aimed to assess whether cumulative disadvantage in childhood misfortune and adult-life socioeconomic conditions influence the risk of frailty in old age and whether welfare regimes influence these associations.<h4>Method</h4>Data from 23,358 participants aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal SHARE survey were used. Frailty was operationalized according to Fried's phenotype as presenting either weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity ...[more]

PMID: 31665484

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:Frailty is a major clinical geriatric syndrome associated with serious adverse events including functional disability, falls, hospitalisation, increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to study associations between a frailty phenotype and frailty characteristics well known from the literature. DESIGN:Registry-based cross-sectional study. SETTING:The target population consists of inhabitants above the age of 50 living in the Danish municipalities of Lolland and Guldborgsund. Excluded are incapacitated people, inhabitants unable to understand Danish or English and inhabitants without a permanent residence. PARTICIPANTS:7327 individuals aged 50+ years were included. OUTCOME MEASURES:We examined associations between the frailty measurement and factors known to be associated with frailty: sex, age, income insufficiency, education, comorbidity, self-assessed health, morbidity and mortality. RESULTS:7327 individuals aged 50+ years were included. Of these, 6.5% had ≥3 frailty components (frail), 46.7% had 1-2 components (prefrail) and 46.9% had none (non-frail). Those who were frail were older and more likely female than those who were non-frail or prefrail. There was a stepwise decrease in educational level, and in self-assessed health with increasing frailty status, and a stepwise increase in difficulty in making ends meet, number of hospital contacts and mortality with increasing frailty status, p<0.0001 for each comparison. Compared with individuals who were non-frail, mortality was higher among those who were prefrail (HR: 2.90; 95% CI: 1.30 to 6.43) or frail (HR: 8.21; 95% CI: 3.37 to 20.0). CONCLUSIONS:Based on these findings, we consider the Lolland-Falster Health Study frailty assessment a valid instrument demonstrating the same characteristics as other validated frailty measures concerning associations with sex, age, income insufficiency, education, comorbidity, self-assessed health, morbidity and mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT02482896.

Dataset Information

Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE.

Publications

Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE.

Similar Datasets

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