J Am Geriatr Soc

ObjectivesTo compare the ability of frailty status to predict fall risk with that of community fall risk screening tools.DesignSettingNational Health and Aging Trend Study (NHATS) 2011ParticipantsIndividuals aged 65 and older (N=7,392).MeasurementsFall risk was defined according to the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) initiative. Frailty was defined as exhaustion, weight loss, low activity, slow gait speed, and weak grip strength. Robust was defined as meeting 0 criteria, prefrailty as 1 or 2 criteria, and frailty as 3 or more criteria. Falls were self-reported and ascertained using NHATS subsequent rounds (2012\u20132015). We compared the ability of frailty to predict future falls with that of STEADI score, adjusting for age, race, sex, education, comorbidities, hearing and vision impairment, and disability.ResultsOf the 7,392 participants (58.5% female), there 3,545 (48.0%) were classified as being at low risk of falling, 2,966 (40.1%) as being at moderate risk, and 881 (11.9%) as being at high risk. The adjusted risk of falling over the 4 subsequent years was 2.5 times as great for the moderate-risk group (hazard ratio (HR)=2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.16\u20132.89) and almost 4 times as great (HR=3.79, 95% CI=2.76\u20135.21) for the high-risk group as for the low-risk group. Risk of falling was greater for those who were prefrail (HR=1.22, 95% CI=1.05\u20131.41) and frail (HR=1.12, 95% CI=0.87\u20131.44) than for those who were robust.ConclusionSTEADI score is a strong predictor of future falls. Addition of frailty status does not improve the ability of the STEADI measure to predict future falls.R25 MH068502/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH078052/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH096441/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR24 MH102794/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesT32 MH073553/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH089811/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesUL1 TR001086/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United StatesU48 DP005018/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United StatesU48DP005018/ACL HHS/United StatesK23 AG051681/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH102325/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesKL2 TR001088/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States2019-03-01T00:00:00Z29427525PMC5933526vault:2952