A Comprehensive Overview of Activities of Daily Living in Existing Frailty Instruments: A Systematic Literature Search.
Gerontologist
; 61(3): e12-e22, 2021 04 03.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31872238
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
The relationship between frailty and disability in activities of daily living (ADLs) can be seen in different ways, with disability being-to varying degrees-a characteristic, negative outcome, or predictor of frailty. This conflation of definitions is partly a result of the different frailty tools used in research. Aiming to provide a comprehensive overview, this systematic literature search analyzed (i) if, (ii) to what extent, and (iii) how ADLs are evaluated by frailty instruments. RESEARCH DESIGN ANDMETHODS:
A search was performed in PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and PsycINFO to identify all frailty instruments, followed by categorization of the ADL items into basic (b-), instrumental (i-), and advanced (a-) ADLs.RESULTS:
In total, 192 articles described 217 frailty instruments, from which 52.1% contained ADL items 45.2% b-ADLs, 35.0% i-ADLs, and 10.1% a-ADLs. The most commonly included ADL items were bathing (b-ADLs); using transportation (i-ADLs); and semiprofessional work engagement in organized social life or leisure activities (a-ADLs). These instruments all had a multidomain origin (χâ2 = 122.4, p < .001). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Because 52.1% of all instruments included ADL items, the concepts of frailty and disability appear to be highly entangled. This might lead to circular reasoning, serious concerns regarding contamination, and invalid research results.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Disabled Persons
/
Frailty
Type of study:
Overview
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Gerontologist
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Belgium