Prevalence of frailty in older adults in outpatient physiotherapy in an urban region in the western part of Germany: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of frailty in older people in outpatient physiotherapy services in an urban region in the western part of Germany. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Outpatient physiotherapy clinics were recruited in the municipal area of the city of Bochum, Germany, and selected randomly. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults aged 65 years and older seeking outpatient physiotherapy. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of frailty was assessed based on the frailty phenotype model of physical frailty and the accumulation of deficit model, expressed as a Frailty Index. Prevalence was calculated for the whole sample and according to age-related, sex-related and diagnosis-related subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 258 participants (74±6 years, 62% female) from 11 out of 130 (8%) different physiotherapy clinics were included. Participants’ main indication for physiotherapy was an orthopaedic or surgical condition (75%). According to the model of a physical frailty phenotype, 17.8% (95% CI 13.2 to 22.5) participants were frail and 43.4% (95% CI 37.4 to 49.5) were prefrail. The Frailty Index identified 31.0% (95% CI 25.4 to 36.7) of individuals as frail. In both models, prevalence increased with age and was higher in women than in men. Slow gait speed (34%), reduced muscle strength (34%) and exhaustion (28%) were the most prevalent indicators of physical frailty. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is comparatively common in older patients attending physiotherapy care in Germany, with one out of three individuals being frail and every second individual being physically frail or prefrail. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00009384; Results.