Frailty predicts trajectories of quality of life over time among British community-dwelling older people

PURPOSE: To investigate associations between baseline frailty status and subsequent changes in QOL over time among community-dwelling older people. METHODS: Among 363 community-dwelling older people ≥65 years, frailty was measured using Frailty Index (FI) constructed from 40 deficits at baseline. QOL was measured using Older People’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL) six times over 2.5 years. Two-level hierarchical linear models were employed to predict QOL changes over time according to baseline frailty. RESULTS: At baseline, mean age was 73.1 (range 65–90) and 62.0 % were women. Mean FI was 0.17 (range 0.00–0.66), and mean OPQOL was 130.80 (range 93–163). The hierarchical linear model adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and enrollment site predicted that those with higher FI at baseline have lower QOL than those with lower FI (regression coefficient = −47.64, p < 0.0001) and that QOL changes linearly over time with slopes ranging from 0.80 (FI = 0.00) to −1.15 (FI = 0.66) as the FI increases. A FI of 0.27 is the cutoff point at which improvements in QOL over time change to declines in QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty was associated with lower QOL among British community-dwelling older people. While less frail participants had higher QOL at baseline and QOL improved over time, QOL of frailer participants was lower at baseline and declined. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11136-015-1213-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.