Interdisciplinary frailty RCT
A 12-month multifactorial interdisciplinary program reduced frailty prevalence and improved mobility versus usual care in frail older adults in Sydney.
Source
A multifactorial interdisciplinary intervention reduces frailty in older people: randomized trial
Study at a glance
- Design
- RCT — Single-center RCT; year-long multifactorial interdisciplinary intervention vs usual care
- N
- N=241 · Enrolled of 322 eligible (75%)
- Population
- Frail older adults in an Australian health system (mean age ~83)
- Outcome
- Frailty prevalence and SPPB mobility at 3 and 12 months
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Interdisciplinary frailty RCT
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
241 of 322 eligible people (75%) agreed to participate.
Of the eligible people approached, 75% (241 out of 322) agreed to participate in the trial.
Mean age was 83.3 years and 68% were women.
Women constituted 68% of participants, and the mean age was 83.3 years.
What they did
A single-center RCT randomized frail older adults to a year-long multifactorial interdisciplinary intervention (physiotherapy, nutrition, medical review as needed) or usual care, assessing frailty and SPPB at 3 and 12 months.
What they found
At 12 months, frailty prevalence was 14.7 percentage points lower with intervention (NNT ≈ 6.8) and SPPB mobility improved relative to controls; effects were clearer at 12 months than at 3 months.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Results are from one Australian health system and do not isolate which component drove benefit or guarantee mortality reduction.
Key terms
- Frailty phenotype
- Clinical state of increased vulnerability often defined by CHS criteria such as slow gait and weak grip.
- SPPB
- Short Physical Performance Battery scoring standing balance, gait, and chair stands.
- Multifactorial intervention
- Combined physiotherapy, nutrition, and medical components tailored to frailty criteria.
- NNT
- Number needed to treat for one additional person to benefit.
- Usual care
- Standard community health and aged-care services without the study program.
- Adherence
- Estimated extent to which participants followed the prescribed intervention.
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Common questions
Who was enrolled?
Frail older adults in Sydney; mean age 83.3 years; 68% women.
How long was the intervention?
12 months after randomization.
What happened to frailty prevalence?
14.7 percentage-point absolute reduction at 12 months (P = 0.02).
Did mobility change?
Yes; SPPB favored intervention by about 1.44 points at 12 months.
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