SHBC1066

W.F.YIP¹, L.GE¹, K.L.TEOW¹, B.H.HENG¹, W.S.TAN¹

National Healthcare Group Corporate Office¹

Frail individuals are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes such as falls, mortality, and hospitalisation. Despite the increasing prevalence of frailty in Singapore, local literature describing frailty transition rates is scant. Therefore, in this study, we examined the rate of frailty transition and its associated factors.

Data was drawn from the Population Health Index longitudinal survey examining the health of community-dwelling adults residing in the Central region of Singapore. Frailty status was determined at baseline and at 1-year follow-up using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Frailty was categorised as: non-frail(CFS1-3), very mildly frail(CFS4), and frail(CFS5-9). Information about socio-demographic factors, medical history, and social frailty indicators were collected via a questionnaire.

1,093 participants (mean[SD] age: 60.2[12.0] years) were included in this study. 943 (86.3%) participants were non-frail, 110 (10.1%) were very mildly frail and 40 (3.7%) were frail at baseline. 4.6% of participants transited from non- or very mildly frail to frail; and 20% improved from frail to non- or very mildly frail. Older age (≥60) (odds ratio[OR]: 1.11, 95% confidence interval[CI]: 1.07 -1.16), vision or hearing impairment (OR: 3.61, 95% CI: 1.43 – 9.12) and mild Alzheimer’s disease (OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 1.11 – 7.61) were risk factors of decline among non- or very mildly frail participants.

Individuals who were older, with vision or hearing impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease were more likely to transit from non- or very mildly frail to frail. Early interventions and community screening for vision or hearing and cognitive impairment may potentially mitigate progression of frailty status.