A Frailty Index from Next-of-Kin Data: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the Mexican Health and Aging Study
Table 1
General description of the sample including the variables of the frailty index.
Variable
Mean (SD) or (%)
Age, mean (SD)
75.7 (10.7)
Age categories, (%)
40–59
184 (6.7)
60–69
640 (23.3)
70–79
849 (30.1)
80–89
777 (28.3)
≥90
293 (10.6)
Sex, (%)
Women
1,334 (48.6)
Men
1,409 (51.3)
The deceased had more weight with important medical decisions, (%)
1,099 (40.1)
Years of death, median (IQR)
4 (0–11)
Number of hospitalized days in the last year of life, mean (SD)
12.6 (33.8)
Visited a physician in the last year of life, mean (SD)
11.6 (22.1)
Variables included in the index
Self-rated health, (%)
Excellent
72 (2.6)
Very good
93 (3.3)
Good
717 (26.1)
Fair
989 (36)
Poor
872 (31.8)
Diabetes mellitus, (%)
892 (33.6)
Cancer, (%)
437 (16.5)
Lung disease, (%)
405 (15.2)
Heart attack, (%)
447 (16.8)
Stroke, (%)
252 (9.5)
Hepatitis, (%)
245 (9.2)
Tuberculosis, (%)
21 (0.7)
Falls, (%)
1,079 (40.7)
Fractures, (%)
290 (10.9)
Pain, (%)
1,368 (51.6)
Pneumonia, (%)
245 (9.2)
Urosepsis, (%)
475 (17.9)
Herpes, (%)
67 (2.5)
Accident, (%)
186 (7)
Dementia, (%)
298 (11.2)
Memory complaint, (%)
354 (13.3)
Incoherent conversations, (%)
543 (20.5)
Frequently confused, (%)
461 (17.4)
Bad judgment, (%)
932 (35.1)
Depression, (%)
1,150 (43.4)
Anorexia, (%)
732 (27.6)
Urinary incontinence, (%)
640 (24.1)
Weight loss, (%)
1,314 (49.6)
Received help with certain activities, (%)
1,491 (56.2)
Swelling feet/ankles, (%)
1,140 (43)
Dyspnea, (%)
815 (30.7)
Severe fatigue, (%)
1,150 (43.4)
Coughing or wheezing, (%)
894 (33.7)
Abdominal pain, (%)
828 (31.2)
30i-FINoK, mean (SD)
0.279 (0.131)
30i-FINoK = 30-item frailty index from next-of-kin data. Information is obtained from next-of-kin of the deceased regarding what happened in the last 12 months.
